But you can, Signor Caio. When your great-grandfather said things like “God does not exist” while in power as a fascist, that makes it very clear what side of the fence he was on. Never mind your socialistic great-great-grandfather Alessandro, who named his son after Benito Juárez of all people.
Frankly I don’t care what Mussolini did on Italian soil.
I do care about the fact that he gassed Ethiopians.
Other than that, helluva guy and a fabulous dancer.
The thought comes to mind of how many democrat politicians must admire the notion that if they could only convince the masses that only they know what is ‘truly good for them’, how wonderful things would be.
Il-Duce III
>>he said the current ban on the fascist salute should be extended to the raised clenched fist of the communists,
Well, I can agree with him on that, but that’s about it.
If the standard of value is God given natural rights which includes liberty, then fascism is wrong.
Seems to me that fascism and communism are just absolute monarchy with non-hereditary monarchs (except for North Korea, where even the monarchy *is* hereditary). Ceausescu was grooming his son to be his successor when it all went south.
So he’s defending the guy who tried to sneak out of Italy dressed as a German soldier. Some leader. At least his people got to see him hanging around at a gas station.
How else could you define it? Starting a brutal colonial war on Abyssinia is not exactly a nuanced act. Bringing on another war that ravaged Italy from one end to the other is not particularly ambiguous from the point of view of the Italians who found their backyards a battleground between the Wehrmacht and the U.S. 5th Army for a year and a half, the aftermath of which was ruin, hunger, and lasting poverty. At what point is there a bright side to this?
FDR openly expressed his admiration for Mussolini, and many of his “progressive” New Deal advisors liked what Hilter and Mussolini were doing.
Of course it makes sense. Take away those few outlying nasty bits of National Socialism, and all that remains garden-variety progressive-left Socialism.
Mussolini suffered a huge reputation hit by his association with Hitler, who he thought was a moron.
But on his own merits, he is no worse that leaders of great Britain, Belgium, Spain, or many other similar countries in that time or space.
But he chose poorly in WWII.
I have an Italian race bike. Doesn’t that count for something.
AdolfoH. was greatly inspired by Benito M..
*** and an alliance with Adolf Hitler. ***
Hard to believe that Italy, the protector of Austria at that time, almost joined an alliance with England and France to protect Austria from Hitler.
Then Hitler put the schmooze on Benito and won him over.
Iteration number 23 or thereabouts of, "By G-d he made the trains run on time!"
Mussolini actually greatly admired Stalin, and in the beginning didn’t see his ideology far from what Stalin was pursuing.