THE GAPORETTO OF SOCIALISM 177
Popolari had suffered from the attacks made by fascists on
the headquarters of their organizations and on their labour
contracts. At Cremona they forced the Popolari to sign a
local agreement with the socialists £ for the defence of
syndical freedom and the protection of their municipalities '.
But this defence could not go very far, since neither could be
guaranteed unless the state took active steps to make the law
respected. The political secretariat of the Popolari, together
with Don Sturzo, were unwilling to commit themselves
very deeply with the socialists ; besides which the confusion
inside the party, where the maximalists still clung to their
1919-1920 ideas, made any collaboration in a government
out of the question. To make matters worse, the maximalist
executive of the party, sheltering behind a question of
procedure, censured the Cremona agreements, which thus
become inoperative. People who a few months ago had
rallied to the e democratic concentration' and the political
solution it implied now began to hesitate, and to see no hope
outside an alliance with the fascists for a great national
government. With this in view Nitti was showing signs of
favour towards fascism, as in the declaration of policy he
made in Melfi on March 12.
Mussolini had no more trouble in settling the crisis inside
the party, which had been most threatening on the eve of
the Rome congress and now only manifested itself in stray
incidents. Grandi and the supporters of c national revolu-
tion ' understood the necessity of temporizing, and recog-
nized that Mussolini was the only pilot who could keep them
clear of the rocks. Even over the young extremists he wielded
an undisputed authority. He took care to be always in
touch with them ; he was at once curt and kindly, off-hand
and affectionate, holding out to each man the hopes that
were most likely to bind him to his service, talking con-
fidentially, committing himself to nothing, but inspiring
others with the wildest dreams. At the beginning of 1922,
a few months after the congress, Italo Balbo, one of the
opposition leaders, wrote in his Diary :
5 Once a month, often once a fortnight, I go and see
Mussolini at Milan. Unforgettable meetings. The Duce
12