ITALY AND GERMANY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22210, 10 September 1935, Page 8

ITALY AND GERMANY

Are Signor Mussolini and ITerr Hitler to join hands against the rest of Europe in the present crisis? The question is raised by the hitter's ostentatious welcome of the new Italian Ambassador to Berlin, and the cordial exchange there of assurances of friendship. In the happening of this three weeks ahead of the arranged date for the Ambassador's reception is a fact of some significance. At any time such assurances, couched in terms of mutual national appreciation, would have been remarkable, for relations havo been strained. Austria has been a bone of contention. Nazi policy has not wavered in its determination to make Austria a dependency of the Reich, although for the time being the idea of a forceful achieving of this has been abandoned. Hitler seems, since his words after the Saar vote, to have kept his promise not to seek another acre of European territory, but the fundamental Nazi doctrine of racial cohesion cannot have been finally forsworn, and it is morally certain that should an opportunity occur to strengthen German influence in Austria it will be seized with avidity. Heretofore Mussolini, for obvious reasons, has stood in the way of this, but the recent rumour of an Italo-German conference about Austria points to the possibility of an understanding that may bring Germany into accord with Italy and thus strengthen Mussolini's position as he faces the unfavourable situation at Geneva. The hostile attitude of France is probably the main inducement of this move, which raises again the doubt as to how French opinion will react to an Italo-German rapprochement. Does Mussolini hope to counter French opposition with German support, in a realisation that France has definitely gone against him, or is he trying to persuade France to think again in order to prevent Italy and Germany making a compact prejudicial to French interests? No matter what the motive in this development of friendship between the two dictators, it may introduce a sinister turn of events. Is there a design to sacrifice Austria as well as Abyssinia, or only a further attempt to persuade Europe to apree to Italian supremacy in East Africa?