ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 is devoted to the reactions to the March on Rome in the press, in foreign diplomatic milieus, in Parliament, in army despatches and in cinematic portrayals in the weeks and months after the event. This chapter highlights how almost all the political actors involved, especially in Italy, chose – albeit for different reasons – to downplay the event as a coup de théâtre and to dismiss the words and actions of the Fascists. They were partly encouraged in this by Mussolini’s rhetoric which, while threatening, veiled the motives of the Fascists and their responsibilities, in an attempt to foster dialogue and reconciliation with the liberal ruling class – a class which proved compliant enough.
