THE MARCH ON ROME 289
Gino Olivetti, secretary of the General Confederation of
Industry, who was concerned in the political parleys with
Mussolini on the eve of the march on Rome, said later to a
socialist deputy : c Mussolini manoeuvres with diabolical
cleverness. He negotiated with everybody up till the last
minutef and, when he had made sure of being well placed
in any ministry, he launched, or allowed, the march on
Rome.5 Mussolini's wish was not only to deceive and dis-
tract his enemies but to be able to fall back on alternative
solutions. He looked on the march as a means of forcing
his negotiations to a conclusion.
Finally by delegating full powers to the Quadrumvirate
he rid himself of all direct responsibility for the adventure
and left himself free to act in a wider field. At heart he
had more faith in his own diplomatic skill than in all the
military resources of the c high command5. Gaetano
Salvemini is right in drawing attention in his penetrating
study c The Advent of Mussolini'x to the fact that after
leaving Naples on the 25th: he went through Rome without
stopping and straight on to Milan instead of joining the
Quadrumvirate in Perugia. If he had been confident in
the success of the movementc he would surely have gone to
Perugia to claim all the glory of the fight and the victory
at the very heart of the insurrection3. He preferred,
however, to stay in Milan, five hundred miles from Rome,
but only two hours from the Swiss frontier, thus keeping
open, not only a line of retreat but even the possibility of
flight in case things took a turn for the worse.
After the events of the 24th the fascist congress in Naples,
which opened the next day, lost all significance. It was held
all the same. ' The congress/ remarks Italo Balbo, * is
almost empty. But there are a few determined people who
have prepared their speeches and want to make them.
The congress farce must go on, at least till to-morrow night.
It is the only way that we can take in the government and
public opinion.5 Actually the congress could only take in
those who wanted to be taken In, for there were frequent
allusions to the impending adventure. Michele Bianchi
made a brief speech in which he said : c It is we who count
1 In the review Res Publica, October 1932, p. 598.
19