236 THE RISE OF ITALIAN FASCISM
it they had every chance of success. Nearly all parties,
from Popolari to nationalists, were either in favour of or
resigned to the fascists joining the government, though they
meant to restrict them to a reasonable share of it. But now
that the squads were closing in on Rome Mussolini was
not going to be content to play the part of a mere lieutenant.
The post he wanted, and regarded as his own, was the
ministry of foreign affairs. He wanted his name to be
reverenced beyond the frontiers. Europe groaned under the
weight of the peace treaty, the League of Nations was
c Utopian \ England was the most formidable guardian of
this system, and it was against her, against the c conservative 5
powers, that Italy must align herself. Mussolini became
obsessed with this idea, to the point of monomania. He
proclaimed himself more and more revisionist and anti-
British. In June 1922 he got the fascist parliamentary
group to pass a resolution condemning the ratification of
the Syrian, Libanon and Palestine mandates. He tried to
stir up Egypt against England. In the middle of July he
proudly quoted in the Popolo d*Italia a resolution of the Arab
Nationalist Committee which congratulated the Italian
fascist and nationalist press on its attitude towards Near
Eastern problems, c It is clear \ he wrote in this connection,
c that we hold excellent cards to play in the Eastern Mediter-
ranean '3 particularly 'Arab nationalism in full swing3.
Certain Italian diplomats remained obstinately pro-British,
* goodness knows why ', but ' all that will soon come to an
end3.
In August the National Council of the Fascist Party passed
another resolution, proposing e to prevent by all possible
means the ratification and carrying out of the Italo-Jugo-
slav conventions of Santa Margharita and Rome'. On
August 28 Mussolini once more denounced the foreign
minister Schanzer,1 for ' sacrificing the independence of
Italian, foreign policy to the League of Nations3. On
September 6, referring to Asia Minor, he demanded that
Italian foreign policy should c take up a realistic attitude
and abandon completely all hollow theorizing, breaking
away once and for all from its subjection to England '.
1 He was minister for foreign affairs in both the Facta cabinets.