Word: mussolini
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Thereupon Premier Mussolini and Count Ciano punked the fuse of an extraordinary chain of diplomatic firecrackers. Italian envoys popped up all over Europe. Il Duce and his son-in-law played faction against faction, until no nation could be sure whether he was coming or going. At first the Allies were favored. Insulting press attacks on the Allies, particularly on Great Britain, were toned down; so was praise of the Axis. Friendly Giuseppe Bastianini was appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James's. Trade talks with a British delegation were nurtured...
...Finnish war put Mussolini's hand on many a pressure valve. He made a show of sending planes to Finland over Germany's protest and territory. When the Allies seemed on a spot, he called off the British trade talks, got into a jam with Britain over coal, in the end managed to have most of his coal and burn Ribbentrop too. Last week he had everyone utterly bewildered. There was talk of sending an Ambassador back to Moscow, even though Premier Molotov was making such aspersive remarks about Italy's Albanian grab that the Italian press...
Impressive indeed was the way in which devious Benito Mussolini meanwhile made himself the patron saint of a Balkan peace bloc. Hungary, which is geographically in Germany's sphere, swung back politically into Italy's (where she was before Anschluss). Foreign Minister Count Stephen Csaky was received by Count Ciano in Venice and last week Premier Count Paul Teleki was made to feel very happy in Rome-even though Benito Mussolini told him Hungary must not dream of getting Transylvania from Rumania until war's end. An Italian economic mission showed up in every Southeastern European country...
...What Mussolini replied was not divulged. But it was very strongly hinted in Rome last week that certain of the points were distasteful to Italy, and that the whole idea of extending and bending the Axis was not well received...
Today, Tomorrow, Any Time. The pattern of Italy's future was still as obscure last week as Benito Mussolini's skill could make it. But from the doubt emerged certain strong probabilities...