A ‘Flirt’ between Madrid and Rome: The Spanish-Italian Rapprochement and the Role of the Western Powers, 1951–1955

Abstract

On 30 April 1957, the French Ambassador in Madrid, Guy Le Roy de la Tournelle, sent a report to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christian Pineau, analysing the status of Spanish-Italian relations. In it, the French diplomat argued that, in spite of the ideological differences, there had been, ‘une resserrement des liens entre le Pardo et le Quirinal’.² Three days later, the US counsellor at the Embassy in Madrid, Richard Johnson, sent a letter to the State Department which went along the same lines. According to Johnson, during the past months there had been intense activity (militarily, cultural, commercial and informational), ‘and an impressive degree of public cordiality’ between the two governments.³ Finally, on 31 May, it was the turn of the British Ambassador in Madrid to write a similar report. In it, Sir William Ivo Mallet explained that Italy had recently made a considerable effort to promote better relations with Spain.⁴

The term ‘flirt’ was used by the French Ambassador in Madrid, Guy Le Toy de la Tournelle, to describe Spanish-Italian relations between 1955 and 1957. AMAEF, Europe 1956–60, Spain, 239. Letter from Tournelle to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Renè Pleven, 13 October 1958.