by the black shirted Fascisti. It seemed that here a specially hostile position against Fascism should have been taken.
But, in reality, the experience of the last year's development of the Italian labor movement shows that the most militant element against Fascism were the Communists, while the reformists had a very strange and ambiguous position in regard to Fascism, beginning with the seeking of a common ground, which would bring about a modus vivendi between the Fascist leaders and the leaders of the trade unions. In this respect the rapprochement between Mussolini and the leaders of the Italian Confederation of Labor is very interesting. Of course, in the fact of rapprochement itself there was nothing wrong. The revolutionary workers of Russia in their time had been talking with the bashibuzuks—Governors General. But what took place before they started those parleys with Mussolini proves that these parleys were not parleys between representatives of different classes sent to find the weak points of the enemy, or in these parleys to defend a certain position. These parleys took place for the sake of adopting common lines of action, of collaboration.
That this was so is proven by the declaration of Mussolini, made in one of his last speeches, that he was always very friendly to the working class, that he was willing to do most everything, and that he would like to have the representatives of the trade unions to participate in the government, that he was ready to give them very important portfolios.
Such declaration it seems should have brought forth a storm of protest from the representatives of the trade unions sitting in parliament, but it was not the case. When vote was taken in the parliament on one of the proposals of Mussolini, D'Aragona who was forced to vote against it, stated: "I wish to explain that I am voting against the government as a member of the Socialist Party, and not as a representative of the Confederation of Labor."
If we will consider the whole situation, the colossal Fascist pressure on the working class, and also the fact that the Confederation of Labor is busy with expelling Communist local unions instead of fighting against Fascism—the character of this flirtation between the Fascists and the reformists will be understood. This political flirtation is not of a purely Italian character. Something similar to it is also noticeable in Germany, where the Social Democracy and the leaders of the trade unions consider Communism as a more dangerous enemy than Fascism. And, at a time when the Communist Party is raising an alarm about the danger of Fascism in Germany, the Social-Democrats are raising the alarm about the danger of Communism. Here they also have the formula: "No Fascism, no Communism, but democracy!" But "democracy" does not in any way oppose Fascism, because the first to recognize the Fascist government were the liberal governments of France, England
