The Government, as you see, governs for all, over the heads of all, and, if necessary, against all. It governs for all, because it takes into account all general interests; it governs against all, when any group, whether of the middle class or of the proletariat, tries to put its interests before the general interests of the nation. I am sure that if the working classes—of which you are the aristocratic minority—continue to give this noble exhibition of tranquillity and discipline, the nation, which was upon the verge of ruin, will recover itself completely.
I do not say things which have not been well considered and thought over; and, after two months of government, I tell you that if the Fascista revolution had been postponed for another few months or perhaps only another few weeks, the nation would have fallen into a state of chaos. All that we are performing now is really work in arrears; we are freeing the citizens from the weight of laws which were the result of a foolish demagogic policy; we are freeing the State from all those superstructures which were suffocating it, from all the economic functions which it was unfitted to perform; we are working to balance the budget, which means re-establishing the value of the lira, which means taking a position of dignity and influence in the international world.
The Italy which we wish to make, which we are building up day by day, which we shall succeed in making, as it is our aim and our immovable determination to do, will be a magnificent creation of power and of wisdom. You can rest assured that in this Italy the workman—and all labour both of the brain and of the hands—will take, as is right, the first place.
PART IV
MUSSOLINI THE “FASCISTA”
THE THREE DECLARATIONS AT THE FIRST FASCISTA MEETING
Speech delivered at Milan, 23rd March 1919, at the first Fascista meeting.
In the spring of 1919, the most critical period through which Italy has passed, the attempt initiated by Benito Mussolini to summon the men prepared to fight Bolshevism, that apparently triumphant beast, seemed absolute madness. A handful of bold spirits, for the most part ex-soldiers coming from the extreme interventionist sections, responded to the appeal. But the gravity of the moment and the danger of physical sacrifice to which they exposed themselves were not sufficient to lessen their ardour and determination for an immediate counter-offensive. This had its conclusive expression in the assault upon and the burning of the offices of the newspaper Avanti, which took place on a day of general strike, when two hundred thousand workmen marched defiantly through the streets of Milan.
First of all, a few words about the proceedings. Without too much formality or pedantry, I will read you three declarations which seem to me worthy of being discussed and voted upon. Then in the afternoon we will resume the discussion of the declaration of our programme. I tell you at once that we cannot go into detail. Wishing to act, we must take salient facts as they exist.
The first declaration is as follows:
The Meeting of the 23rd March first salutes with reverence and remembrance the sons of Italy who have fallen for the cause of the greatness of the country and the liberty of the world, the maimed and disabled, and all the fighters and ex-prisoners who fulfilled their duty, and declares itself ready to uphold strongly the vindication of rights, both material and moral, advocated by the “Association of Fighters.”