The World - News from Oct. 14, 1988

Italian Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita’s coalition won a crucial vote to abolish most secret balloting in Parliament. The Christian Democrat leader had staked his six-month-old coalition on the reform measure, which is aimed at eliminating one of the principal causes of Italy’s government instability. The open vote is expected to strengthen the executive system and create a more stable political climate in a country that has had a succession of revolving-door governments. Italy was one of the few Western democracies where most parliamentary votes were secret, and citizens had no certainty about how their representatives voted.