dossetti was anyway an atypical politician. he decided to not rerun for the 1948 elections and changed idea only to obey to monsignor montini (pope paolo vi). his evangelist positions were more or less opposed to the alcide de gasperi's more pragmatic ones. he was against nato accession of italy, which he considered dangerous, and in favour of social reforms aimed at helping the poorer parts of the population. dossetti was presented to the congress with over one third consensus. the contraposition with de gasperi was very clear. he accepted the challenge and returned as deputy secretary of the party. during the following years he was actively involved in working at many reforms, including the cassa del mezzogiorno.