Mussolini as revealed in his political speeches (November 1914-August 1923)Mussolini, Benito
History
Mussolini as revealed in his political speeches (November 1914-August 1923)
Mussolini, Benito
Fascism -- Italy; Italy -- Politics and government -- 1914-1945; Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945; Partito nazionale fascista (Italy)
Our punitive expeditions, all those acts of violence which figure in the
papers, must always have the character of a just retort and legitimate
reprisal; because we are the first to recognise that it is sad, after
having fought the external enemy, to have to fight the enemy within,
who, whether they like it or not, are Italians. But it is necessary, and
as long as it is necessary, we shall continue to carry out this hard and
thankless task.
Now the Democrats, the Republicans and the Socialists accuse us of
various things. The Socialists, hitherto, have said that we were sold to
the profiteers and the agrarians. Now there are not enough profiteers in
the whole of Italy to support a movement like ours, and in any case I
must say that they would be rather stupid profiteers, because from the
March of 1919 we, in our Fascista programmes, have laid down fiscal
provisions which are pretty heavy and in any case anti-profiteer. The
accusations of the Democrats are equally ridiculous, and also those of
the Republicans. I cannot explain to myself why the Republicans are
against a movement which has republican tendencies like ours. I could
understand them being against us if we were in favour of the monarchy.
They say to us: “You have no preconceptions.” We have not, and we are
proud of it. But you must explain the phenomenon of the anger and the
incomprehension of the Socialists. The Socialists had formed a State
within a State. If this new State had been more liberal, more modern,
nearer the old type, there would have been nothing against it. But this
State, and you know it by direct experience, is more tyrannical,
illiberal and overbearing than the old one; and for this reason that
which we are causing to-day is a revolution to break up the Bolshevist
State, while waiting to settle our accounts with the Liberal State which
remains. (Applause.)
_The Socialist Crisis and the Fascista Attitude to the Elections._ There
are those who think that the Socialist crisis is only a crisis limited
to a few men; but it goes deeper, my dear friends, and it represents a
general upheaval.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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