Western European Response to the Prague Spring

Western European governments followed America’s lead. The reaction of the Western European Communist Parties in Italy was more surprising. In Italy and France they were outraged by the Soviet invasion. They declared themselves independent from the Soviet Communist Party. This formed rival forms of European Communism and Soviet Communism in the East. This was very important as it showed the extent to which, Soviet Communism had lost authority and support as a result of the invasion.