---
title: For the Carrying Out of the Treaty of Rapallo
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/47-for-the-carrying-out-of-the-treaty-of-rapallo/
description: For the Carrying Out of the Treaty of Rapallo, from Mussolini as Revealed in His Political Speeches (November 1914 to August 1923) by Benito Mussolini.
section: FRAME
---

![Illustration: an interwar radio-and-newsreel intelligence collage with a 1930s map of Europe and propaganda poster proofs.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/detail/hero-interwar.jpg)

[Library](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/) · Book · [Mussolini as Revealed in His Political Speeches (November 1914 to August 1923)](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/)

# For the Carrying Out of the Treaty of Rapallo

This text

- **Work:** [Mussolini as Revealed in His Political Speeches (November 1914 to August 1923)](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/)
- **Author:** Benito Mussolini
- **Published:** 1923

Full details

- **Rights:** Published in 1923, more than 95 years ago, so in the public domain in the United States (works published in 1930 or earlier); Project Gutenberg marks the ebook public domain in the USA. The translator and editor, Bernardo Quaranta di San Severino, died in 1934 and Mussolini in 1945, so the term of life plus 70 years has also run out in Italy and the United Kingdom. The editor's introduction and prefatory notes are part of the 1923 book and are included.

Chapters

1. The Editor’s Introduction and the Manifesto
2. [Introduction: A Note on Italian Fascismo](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/01-introduction-a-note-on-italian-fascismo/)
3. [Manifesto of the Fascista National Party (English Translation)](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/02-manifesto-of-the-fascista-national-party-english/)
4. Part I: Mussolini the “Socialist”
5. [“Do Not Think That by Taking Away My Membership Card You Will Take Away My Faith in the Cause”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/03-do-not-think-that-by-taking-away-my-membership-c/)
6. Part II: Mussolini the “Man of the War”
7. [For the Liberty of Humanity and the Future of Italy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/04-for-the-liberty-of-humanity-and-the-future-of-it/)
8. [“Either War or the End of Italy’s Name as a Great Power”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/05-either-war-or-the-end-of-italy-s-name-as-a-great/)
9. [“To the Complete Vanquishing of the Huns”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/06-to-the-complete-vanquishing-of-the-huns/)
10. [“No Turning Back!”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/07-no-turning-back/)
11. [The Fatal Victory](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/08-the-fatal-victory/)
12. [“In Honour of the American People”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/09-in-honour-of-the-american-people/)
13. [The League of Nations](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/10-the-league-of-nations/)
14. [In Celebration of Victory](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/11-in-celebration-of-victory/)
15. Part III: Mussolini the “Fascista Friend of the People”
16. [Workmen’s Rights After the War](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/12-workmen-s-rights-after-the-war/)
17. [Sacrifice, Work, and Production](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/13-sacrifice-work-and-production/)
18. [“We Are Not Against Labour, but Against the Socialist Party, in as Far as It Remains Anti-Italian”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/14-we-are-not-against-labour-but-against-the-social/)
19. [Fascismo’s Interests for the Working Classes](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/15-fascismo-s-interests-for-the-working-classes/)
20. [“My Father Was a Blacksmith and I Have Worked with Him; He Bent Iron, but I Have the Harder Task of Bending Souls”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/16-my-father-was-a-blacksmith-and-i-have-worked-wit/)
21. [Labour to Take the First Place in New Italy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/17-labour-to-take-the-first-place-in-new-italy/)
22. Part IV: Mussolini the “Fascista”
23. [The Three Declarations at the First Fascista Meeting](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/18-the-three-declarations-at-the-first-fascista-mee/)
24. [Outline of the Aims and Programme of Fascismo](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/19-outline-of-the-aims-and-programme-of-fascismo/)
25. [Fascismo and the Rights of Victory](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/20-fascismo-and-the-rights-of-victory/)
26. [The Tasks of Fascismo](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/21-the-tasks-of-fascismo/)
27. [Fascismo and the Problems of Foreign Policy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/22-fascismo-and-the-problems-of-foreign-policy/)
28. [How Fascismo Was Created: Its Evolution and Essence](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/23-how-fascismo-was-created-its-evolution-and-essen/)
29. [The Italy We Want Within, and Her Foreign Relations](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/24-the-italy-we-want-within-and-her-foreign-relatio/)
30. [“The Piave and Vittorio Veneto Mark the Beginning of New Italy”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/25-the-piave-and-vittorio-veneto-mark-the-beginning/)
31. [The Fascista Dawning of New Italy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/26-the-fascista-dawning-of-new-italy/)
32. [“The Moment Has Arrived When the Arrow Must Leave the Bow or the Cord Will Break!”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/27-the-moment-has-arrived-when-the-arrow-must-leave/)
33. Part V: Mussolini the “Fascista Member of Parliament”
34. [Fascismo and the New Provinces](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/28-fascismo-and-the-new-provinces/)
35. [The Question of Montenegro’s Independence](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/29-the-question-of-montenegro-s-independence/)
36. [D’Annunzio and Fiume](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/30-d-annunzio-and-fiume/)
37. [Italy, Sionism, and the English Mandate in Palestine](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/31-italy-sionism-and-the-english-mandate-in-palesti/)
38. [The Attitude of Fascismo Towards Communism and Socialism](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/32-the-attitude-of-fascismo-towards-communism-and-s/)
39. [The Attitude of Fascismo Towards the Popular Party. The Vatican and Social Democracy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/33-the-attitude-of-fascismo-towards-the-popular-par/)
40. Part VI: Mussolini the “Fascista Prime Minister”
41. [Mussolini the “Fascista Prime Minister”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/34-mussolini-the-fascista-prime-minister/)
42. [A New Cromwell in the Parliament](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/35-a-new-cromwell-in-the-parliament/)
43. [The Foreign Policy of the Fascista Government](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/36-the-foreign-policy-of-the-fascista-government/)
44. [The Policy of Fascismo for Italy: Economy, Work and Discipline](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/37-the-policy-of-fascismo-for-italy-economy-work-an/)
45. [“Conscientious General Diagnosis of the Conditions of the Country and Its Foreign Policy”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/38-conscientious-general-diagnosis-of-the-condition/)
46. [“I Remain the Head of Fascismo, Although the Head of the Italian Government”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/39-i-remain-the-head-of-fascismo-although-the-head/)
47. [“Our Task in History Is to Make a United State of the Italian Nation”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/40-our-task-in-history-is-to-make-a-united-state-of/)
48. [The Advance in the Ruhr District](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/41-the-advance-in-the-ruhr-district/)
49. [The Government of Speed](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/42-the-government-of-speed/)
50. [The March of Events on the Ruhr the Position of Italy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/43-the-march-of-events-on-the-ruhr-the-position-of/)
51. [The Ruhr, the Conference of Lausanne and the Port of Memel](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/44-the-ruhr-the-conference-of-lausanne-and-the-port/)
52. [Ratification of the Washington Treaty of Naval Disarmament](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/45-ratification-of-the-washington-treaty-of-naval-d/)
53. [Message from the Hon. Mussolini to the Italians in America Upon the Occasion of the Signing of the Convention for the Laying of Cables Between Italy and the American Continent](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/46-message-from-the-hon-mussolini-to-the-italians-i/)
54. [For the Carrying Out of the Treaty of Rapallo](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/47-for-the-carrying-out-of-the-treaty-of-rapallo/)
55. [The Agreements of Santa Margherita, Italy and Yugoslavia](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/48-the-agreements-of-santa-margherita-italy-and-yug/)
56. [Questions of Foreign Policy Before the Senate. The Ruhr; Fiume; Zara and Dalmatia](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/49-questions-of-foreign-policy-before-the-senate-th/)
57. [A Review of European Politics in Their Relation with Italy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/50-a-review-of-european-politics-in-their-relation/)
58. [The Italo-Yugoslav Conference for the Commercial Treaty](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/51-the-italo-yugoslav-conference-for-the-commercial/)
59. [“History Tells Us That Strict Finance Has Brought Nations to Security”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/52-history-tells-us-that-strict-finance-has-brought/)
60. [“It Is Not the Economic System of Europe Alone That We Have to Restore to Its Full Efficiency”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/53-it-is-not-the-economic-system-of-europe-alone-th/)
61. [“Only Those Who Profited by the War Grumbled and Still Grumble, Cursed and Still Curse at the War”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/54-only-those-who-profited-by-the-war-grumbled-and/)
62. [“Patriotism Is Not Formed by Mere Words”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/55-patriotism-is-not-formed-by-mere-words/)
63. [Questions of Foreign Policy Before the Cabinet](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/56-questions-of-foreign-policy-before-the-cabinet/)
64. [“Mine Is Not a Government Which Deceives the People”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/57-mine-is-not-a-government-which-deceives-the-peop/)
65. [“In Time Past as in Time Present, Woman Had Always a Preponderant Influence in Shaping the Destinies of Humanity”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/58-in-time-past-as-in-time-present-woman-had-always/)
66. [“So Long as These Students and These Universities Exist, the Nation Cannot Perish and Become a Slave, Because Universities Smash Fetters Without Allowing the Forging of New Ones”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/59-so-long-as-these-students-and-these-universities/)
67. [Italy’s Foreign Policy Regarding German Reparations, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Russia, Poland and Other Countries](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/60-italy-s-foreign-policy-regarding-german-reparati/)
68. [“The Internal Policy”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/61-the-internal-policy/)
69. [“As Sardinia Has Been Great in War, So Likewise Will She Be Great in Peace”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/62-as-sardinia-has-been-great-in-war-so-likewise-wi/)
70. [“Men Pass Away, Maybe Governments Too, but Italy Lives and Will Never Die”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/63-men-pass-away-maybe-governments-too-but-italy-li/)
71. [“Fascismo Will Bring a Complete Regeneration to Your Land”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/64-fascismo-will-bring-a-complete-regeneration-to-y/)
72. [“As We Have Regained the Mastery of the Air, We Do Not Want the Sea to Imprison Us”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/65-as-we-have-regained-the-mastery-of-the-air-we-do/)
73. [“I Promise You—And God Is My Witness—That I Shall Continue Now and Always to Be a Humble Servant of Our Adored Italy”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/66-i-promise-you-and-god-is-my-witness-that-i-shall/)
74. [“The Victory of the Piave Was the Deciding Factor of the War”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/67-the-victory-of-the-piave-was-the-deciding-factor/)
75. [The Relations Between Italy and the United States](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/68-the-relations-between-italy-and-the-united-state/)
76. [“The Greatness of the Country Will Be Achieved by the New Generations”](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/69-the-greatness-of-the-country-will-be-achieved-by/)
77. [The Situation on the Ruhr and Other Questions of Foreign Policy](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/70-the-situation-on-the-ruhr-and-other-questions-of/)
78. [The Electoral Reform Bill](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/71-the-electoral-reform-bill/)
79. [The Massacre of the Italian Delegation for the Delimitation of the Greco-Albanian Frontier](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/72-the-massacre-of-the-italian-delegation-for-the-d/)

[← Message from the Hon. Mussolini to the Italians in America Upon the Occasion of the Signing of the Convention for the Laying of Cables Between Italy and the American Continent](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/46-message-from-the-hon-mussolini-to-the-italians-i/) [The Agreements of Santa Margherita, Italy and Yugoslavia →](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/48-the-agreements-of-santa-margherita-italy-and-yug/)

**Content note:** Speeches and an editor's introduction that praise Fascism and its leader, describe violence against Socialists and Communists as necessary, use hostile wartime terms such as "Huns" for Germans, and make nationalist claims to territory. Shown as printed. This object is shown as it was published. [Why](https://propagandaarchive.org/about/#as-it-was)

> Prefatory remarks to the Deputies, 8th February 1923, accompanying the Project of Law presented by the Hon. Mussolini, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister.

*The Prime Minister.* Honourable Members,—Last November I began my statement to Parliament of the programme of the National Government as regards foreign policy with the following words:

“The fundamental principle upon which our foreign policy is based is that treaties of peace, once signed and ratified, must be carried out whether they are good or bad. A self-respecting nation cannot follow another course. Treaties are not eternal or irreparable; they are chapters and not epilogues in history; to put them into practice means to try them. If in the course of execution they are proved to be absurd, this in itself may constitute the new element which may open the possibility of a further examination of the respective positions.”

The preceding Government had undertaken to present to Parliament the Agreements concluded at Santa Margherita, and signed at Rome on the 23rd October last. This undertaking I now fulfil.

These Agreements, contrary to what has been stated by someone, do not contain any new political pledges on the part of Italy, but regulate the relations between the Commune of Zara and the surrounding territory of Dalmatia, make clear some recognised rights on the part of citizens who are Italian by option, and endeavour, by means of friendly agreements, to find a possibility of giving and assuring a peaceful and industrious life to the troubled city of Fiume.

Owing to the way in which it is drawn up—whether on account of its diffuseness in those clauses which touch upon territorial questions, and its brevity in others, or whether on account of the seeming precedence given to the task of the commissions which ought, according to the letter of the treaty itself, to proceed exclusively to the settlement of territorial questions, while for the commissions to which were entrusted the settlement of other questions, limits were established, *a priori*, of a certain amplitude (Art. VI.)—the Treaty of Rapallo has given Yugoslavia the opportunity of maintaining that it was necessary first to effect the evacuation of the territories over which the sovereignty of the Serbo-Croat-Slovak Kingdom had been recognised, and then of proceeding to the stipulations of the agreements for the regulation of the new relations between the two countries.

They tried to justify this with arguments of a political nature. That is to say, they saw, in the first place, that the opposition met with in various Italian political spheres to the transactions concluded at Rapallo had stirred up the discontent and opposition of the Yugoslavs to the treaty; secondly, that the suspended execution of the Territorial Clauses, evidently attributed to some Italian parties, had given the impression to the Yugoslavs that Italy did not want to proceed to the carrying out of the treaty; thirdly, that, in consequence, the parliamentary opposition to a policy of friendliness towards Italy had become very marked, and rendered extremely difficult the adoption of direct provisions for the favourable regulation of these relations; and lastly, that if, instead, the prearranged course had been followed—that of proceeding, say, first to the evacuation of the territories—a radical change of position would have been realised, which would have allowed of the conclusion of more favourable agreements.

In Italy, on the other hand, the discontent was increased by an idea, entertained by many, that the new State, which had also arisen as the result of Italy’s victorious war, ought to give to the citizens, and in Italian interests, privileges no less great than those granted by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, not taking into account that a national State, newly formed, may have particular exigencies and susceptibilities. The contrast of such opposite tendencies ended by creating in the relations between the two countries an atmosphere of uneasiness, which has at times reached an acute stage. And in Italy, the intransigence of some circles found justification, above all, in the weakness of the Governments, inasmuch as they had ground for fearing that all our rights would be trodden underfoot the moment we no longer had tangible securities in our hands. By the Agreements which are now handed to us, the Government of Belgrade has recognised the necessity of determining the régime which will have to regulate the reciprocal relations of the new boundaries before passing to the definite execution of the Territorial Clauses.

As for the substance of the Agreements, it is my conviction that their greater or less efficacy will depend upon the spirit in which they are carried out, because never, perhaps, has it been so true, as in this case, that the most perfect pacts become empty formulas if a doubtful or hostile spirit is brought to their execution.

I observe, in conclusion, that the uncertainty which has been manifested in the foreign policy of Italy as regards the Treaty of Rapallo has created a situation unfavourable to her, often preventing her from taking a decided attitude, which would have been in her interest, in most essential questions of a general nature, and making her appear in a light contradictory to her position as a Great Power.

My intense, though brief, experience of Government has shown me that it is not possible to carry out a strong foreign policy without having decisive and clearly defined attitudes as regards the other States.

Italy must get away from this weak situation, must regain her full liberty and efficiency of action also in this sphere. We shall, therefore, carry out the treaty resolutely and loyally, exacting its scrupulous observance. We shall watch over this as is our right and duty. And we wait for time to pass definite judgment upon the soundness and the fate of to-day’s Conventions.

With this understanding, I ask you, Honourable Members, to approve of the following Project of Law:

“Full and entire execution is given to the Agreements and Conventions signed at Rome on 23rd October 1921, between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes for the execution of the Treaty of Rapallo of 12th November 1920.”

[← Message from the Hon. Mussolini to the Italians in America Upon the Occasion of the Signing of the Convention for the Laying of Cables Between Italy and the American Continent](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/46-message-from-the-hon-mussolini-to-the-italians-i/) [The Agreements of Santa Margherita, Italy and Yugoslavia →](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/48-the-agreements-of-santa-margherita-italy-and-yug/)

Mussolini as Revealed in His Political Speeches (November 1914 to August 1923), Benito Mussolini. Published in 1923, more than 95 years ago, so in the public domain in the United States (works published in 1930 or earlier); Project Gutenberg marks the ebook public domain in the USA. The translator and editor, Bernardo Quaranta di San Severino, died in 1934 and Mussolini in 1945, so the term of life plus 70 years has also run out in Italy and the United Kingdom. The editor's introduction and prefatory notes are part of the 1923 book and are included. [Provenance and rights](https://propagandaarchive.org/library/mussolini-political-speeches-1923/).