ITALY’S DICTATOR

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20103, 9 May 1935, Page 10

ITALY’S DICTATOR

WOMAN BEHIND HIM A FORCEFUL CHARACTER How many people have heard of Donna Margherita Scarfatti? Yet she is the greatest driving force behind Mussolini, Dictator of Italy, and at the same time the most retiring woman in all Europe. Donna Scarfatti is revered throughout Italy as Mussolini’s second brain. Every speech, every article he writes, is submitted to this scion of a noble family who espoused the Fascist cause in its very earliest days. All the published photographs of Mussolini show him in a stem, relentless mood, but one should not be misled by this into thinking that he has no ears for any counsel but his own, writes Signor R. P. Marino in the “Sunday Graphic.” The stem regard is a mask that hides a readiness to listen to any sound policy that may help his country to an even greater destiny. Even his fiercest enemies have to admit his amazing personality. Foremost among Mussolini’s advisers, yet always ’’eeping in the background, is a woman, Donna Margherita Scarfatti. the daughter of a rich patrician family of Venice, who, since the first entry of the Duce into politics, has been his sincere friend, ally, and confidante. Who is this remarkable woman who, playing so important a role in Italian affairs, still holds herself aloof from public office, preferring to help the Duce’s cause from her own home? Why is it that her name is not known all over Europe as it is in Italy? A Woman’s Place The answer is that Donna Margherita retired from all public work after the triumphant march on Rome, following the Fascist credo that the woman's place is in the home. It is for the same reason that Donna Rachelle Mussolini is not often seen in public, although the Italian nation has honoured her with the title “Donna,” which is shared by only a few women, all other Italian women being called simply “Signora.” Donna Scarfatti was bom in Venice of rich parents. No one would have prophesised for her a life so crammed with incident. Her earliest childhood was spent peacefully enough within the walls of the paternal palace which has been occupied by many generations of her family, the Grassinis, who had always been influential in the old city of the Doges.

Until her twentieth year Margherita led the usual life of the adolescent aristocrat. A gifted musician, she was a fervent student of all the arts, and before she left school she spoke four languages. Then, in her twenty-first year, while enjoying a holiday at the seaside with a French governess, she made the acquaintance of a young lecturer in political economy, a staunch believer in the doctrines of Karl Marx. This young man at once began to pay court to the beautiful Venetian, and Margherita welcomed not the man, but his ideas. Every theory put forward by this young enthusiast opened her eyes to unsuspected horizons. And the revelation was disturbing to the young girl who knew nothing of the world. Once back in Venice, she began to write articles for the local socialist paper. It was a scandal; what, a Grassini going over to the revolutionaries? In any case, a rupture between Margherita and her family was inevitable; therefore without waiting for the storm to break, she left the palace to enter the world as a militant socialist. Married a Lawyer She soon became acquainted with the socialist leaders, who, in their turn, quickly became the devoted admirers of their new aristocratic colleague. From one of them she chose a husband, a young lawyer named Scarfatti, a native of Milan. And it was to that industrial town that the couple went to take up their abode. There were years of happiness, and since the budding lawyer’s income was meagre. Markherita continued to contribute to the conjugal exchequer. She became art critic on the staff of the socialist daily “Avanti.” One day she received a shock. The paper changed hands, and the young reformer feared that she would lose her job. But her fears were groundless, for she was kept on by the new proprietor, Benito Mussolini, who was looked upon as the future leader of the party. One evening Mussolini dined with the Scarfattis. The three violent socialists sat up until a late hour discussing Karl Marx and socialist opinion abroad. The young newspaper proprietor was amazed at his hostess’s knowledge of French, German, and English newspapers, and he listened eagerly to her opinions. From that moment Margherita became the comrade and confidante of Mussolini. Valued Advice He submitted to her the text of all his speeches and his articles before he sent them to the Press. He would adopt no resolution at a party meeting without first consulting her. and the sight of the Scarfattis and the MusHolinis walking arm-in-arm down the streets became a commonplace in Milan from then on. The war caused a hiatus in this strict collaboration. Mussolini was, of course, at the front. When the war ended. Margherita was one of the few friends who followed Mussolini in his evolution from Socialism to Fascism. She became his most trusted adviser on the new paper, “Populo d’ltalia.” And when Mussolini undertook his famous march on Rome she was with him at his side. Then, once the victory was won. having accompanied her leader throughout all his campaigns, she abandoned the political scene, accepting without reserve the Fascist doctrine that the woman’s place is by the hearth. Donna Scarfatti, in effacing herself in this voluntary manner, thus showed the nobility of her character. Her reward was in seeing her leader in his glory. Their spiritual union was symbolic of the new Italy; centuries old tradition welded with the robust character of the Italian peasantry. Her friendship with the Duce and his family grew with the years, and soon after retiring from active politics she wrote the Duce’s biography, which he honoured by supplying the preface which he called “This is my whole life.” Donna Margherita’s energy and inclination knew no bounds, and she published a treatise on modem art, a novel, and a book of verse. Lately she has occupied her time travelling on lecture tours in England, America, and Switzerland, and as soon as she returns to Italy she is eagerly awaited by the Duce, who places more faith in her judgment of affairs abroad than in all his ambassadors.