 The statement from Victor Emmanuel in late 1943 that he felt he borne no responsibility for Italy's plight, for appointing Mussolini prime minister in 1922 and for entering the war in 1940 further increased his unpopularity and led to demands that he abdicate at once.In northern Italy, a guerrilla war began against the fascists, both Italian and German, with most of the guerrilla units fighting under the banner of the National Liberation Committee ("Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale"-CLN), who were very strongly left-wing and republican.Of the six parties that made up the CLN, the Communists, the Socialists and the Action Party were republican; the Christian Democrats and the Labour Party were ambiguous on the "institutional question", and only the Liberal Party was committed to preserving the monarchy, though many individual Liberals were republicans.