The Pope's Battalions: Santamaria, Catholicism and the Labor Split by Ross Fitzgerald

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. Pages are sunned.

A prophet whose confident prophecies were frequently proved wrong, B A Santamaria profoundly affected 20th-century Australian political life. Although he rarely gave interviews and never held elected office, Santamaria became widely known through his regular commentaries in The Australian and his magazine News Weekly.

Building on his battle against Communist influence in the trade unions, Santamaria boldly attempted to capture the ALP and transform it into a European-style Christian Democrat party.

The ensuing split was disastrous, demoralising the ALP and casting Santamaria out of the Labor fold for all time.