 Badoglio's offer was rejected as Admiral Ellery W. Stone of the ACC was opposed to Umberto's plans to have Bonomi share power with Badoglio and Orlando as upsetting the delicately achieved political consensus for no other reason than to increase the Crown's power.In October 1944, Umberto in an interview with the "New York Times" stated he favored a referendum to decide whether Italy was to be a republic vs. a monarchy, instead of having the "institutional question" decided by the national assembly that would write Italy's post-war constitution.Umberto's interview caused some controversy as it was widely feared by the republican parties that a referendum would be rigged, especially in the south of Italy.