On 17 January 1948, commenting on the forthcoming congress of the Nouvelles équipes internationales (NEI), the German daily newspaper Rheinische Post looks at the political evolution of the Christian Democratic parties in Western Europe since the end of the Second World War.

On 26 June 1945, in Berlin, the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) is formed to accommodate the various movements seeking to achieve a union of democratic and Christian forces.

On 1 March 1946, the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) in the British occupation zone issues a manifesto which sets out in detail the appeal made on 26 June 1945 and which will itself be supplemented at a later date.

Since its establishment in June 1945, the political objective of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been to unite Christians of all denominations and to reintegrate former supporters of the National Socialist German Workers Party into German society.

On 4 October 1945, the Luxembourg Christian-Social Party (CSV) resolutely reaffirms the principles of its policies in the run-up to the general elections in the Grand Duchy.

On 24 July 1946, addressing the Constituent Assembly, Giovanni Gronchi, MP and Leader of the Christian Democrats in the Italian Parliament, calls for a vote of confidence in the new De Gasperi government.

On 18 April 1948, the Italian Christian Democratic Party led by Alcide De Gasperi (left), having secured 48.5 % of the votes, wins the legislative elections in Italy.

On 19 April 1948, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the numerous issues surrounding the Italian parliamentary elections, which, owing to the Cold War, are giving rise to huge expectations on both sides of the Iron Curtain. These parliamentary elections would lead to the victory of Alcide De Gasperi’s Christian Democracy party over the Popular Democratic Front , a coalition formed by the Communist Party and the Italian Socialists, and would therefore emphasise Italy’s position in the Western bloc.

On 22 April 1948, the Catholic daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort comments on the victory of the Christian Democratic Party in the Italian legislative elections.

On 22 April 1948, in the Belgian daily newspaper La Dernière Heure, the British journalist Randolph Churchill welcomes the imminent victory of the Christian Democratic Party at the general elections in Italy.