December 17, 1916, Veselý reported the opinion of the Ministry that we were holding too much aloof from Italy; that our movement at Rome should be established on a footing equal to that in Paris and London, and that, above all, we should not concern ourselves so much about Jugoslav matters, since this would tend to alienate Italian sympathies from us. I promised to go to Italy as soon as possible, and in the following month I went.
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Before his death San Giuliano, who was the Foreign Minister of Italy at the outbreak of the war, was evidently inclined to believe that the Triple Alliance was dead, and that Italy would be obliged to enter the war in company with the Triple Entente. This would mean the fall of Austria-Hungary and the gain of considerable territories by Italy. There were, however, two dangers which caused him concern. On the one hand he was not certain whether the Triple Entente would continue to oppose the Habsburg Empire until the end, and on the other he feared the expansion of the Russians and the Slavs in general, if they were victorious.
In spite of his defects and political blunders Baron Sonnino was indisputably Italy’s strong man during the war. He was honest, consistent, and persevering, even to the point of obstinacy. If he gave his word he kept it, but he did not always properly understand the problems on which he made decisions, and he kept too rigidly to his preconceived ideas. The general design of his policy was simple. The majority of the leading politicians in Italy must soon have realized that an attitude of neutrality could not be indefinitely maintained. The war had become a European war, and its influence on Italy, both in a political and economic respect, was such that the whole country was faced daily with difficult problems arising from it. Neutrality would, in the end, have had worse results for Italy than actual warfare. Sonnino did not think that a permanent, or at least a prolonged, neutrality was impracticable. He was in agreement with Salandra’s later formula concerning sacro egoismo.
On these lines Sonnino began to negotiate with Vienna on the subject of the well-known concessions in return for continued neutrality in the war, and a disinterested attitude in
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