The Man Who Challenged Mussolini
The tragic end of Giacomo Matteotti
We dispute here and in the main the validity of the majority elections… The election in our opinion is essentially invalid, and we add that it is not valid in all constituencies… By your confirmation (of the fascist parliamentarians) therefore no Italian voter found himself free to decide with his will… There is an armed militia comprised of citizens of a single Party, which has the declared task of supporting a specific Government with force, even if consent to it is missing… You declare every day that you want to re-establish the authority of the State and of the law. Do it, if you still have time; otherwise, you will, truly, ruin what is the intimate essence, the moral reason of the Nation. Do not continue to keep the Nation divided into masters and subjects, since this system certainly causes license and revolt. If freedom is given, there may be errors and temporary excesses, but the Italian people, like everyone else, have demonstrated that they know how to correct them themselves. Instead, lament lore the desire to prove that only our people cannot stand on their own and must be governed by force. But our people were recovering and educating themselves, also with our work. You want to push us back. We defend the free sovereignty of the Italian people to whom we send our warmest greetings and believe we are reclaiming their…
