bout de papier, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1999) — Fall 1999 // Automne 1999, pp. 34–35
As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of the most successful politician in Canadian history (and, according to Norman Hillmer and Jack Granatstein, Canada’s greatest prime minister), it seems appropriate to shed additional light on the illustrious career of W.L. Mackenzie King. Many readers will be aware that King met Adolf Hitler in 1937. That peculiar encounter in Berlin has been the subject of academic attention and unkind words, effectively reinforced by quotations from King’s voluminous diary. Less has been written about King’s meeting with another eventual member of the Axis pact, Benito Mussolini, long before Il Duce embarked on his idiosyncratic path of conquest.
For King, his trip to Europe in 1928 was an eventful journey. On the official itinerary of the prime minister and secretary of state for external affairs were signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact in Paris, formally opening Canada’s legation there (our second diplomatic mission) and attending the meetings of the Council and General Assembly of the League of Nations in Geneva. In breaks from that schedule, King managed two brief jaunts to Italy as a tourist. On the second of these, he travelled to Venice and Rome, two cities where he had stayed in 1900. King’s diary entries recall that first visit, when he had supposedly decided to pursue a career in the Canadian public service that ultimately led to the office of prime minister. In fact, King characteristically had hedged his bets when he received the fateful telegram in Rome in late June, eventually accepting the government’s offer a week later in London.
King recorded a tourist’s impressions of Italy’s sights, as well as the impact (and the ubiquitous photographs) of its dictator, Mussolini. What impressed King, and others who came to Italy in the 1920s, was the order, stability and prosperity of the country under the fascist regime. Though he refers to Mussolini as a “young man,” King was only nine years older than the Italian leader. Mussolini had been named premier on 29 October 1922, less than a year after King had been sworn in as prime minister. Though both had initially led minority governments, Mussolini’s approach to overcoming that difficulty was considerably more vigorous than King’s careful and persistent wooing of the Progressives in the House of Commons. By the time they met, Mussolini’s grip on power was firm, while King too was more secure than before, as he demonstrated those skills which served him so well in Canadian politics. Mercifully, neither his career nor the fate of the world depended on King’s assessment of foreign dictators. To be fair to him, those with more influence in international affairs and greater experience as statesmen made similar misjudgments. As a reminder, if one is necessary for Foreign Service officers, that even bullies can make a positive impression, we reprint the following extracts from the King Diary, which is part of the of W.L. Mackenzie King Papers at the National Archives of Canada.
Hector Mackenzie
Tuesday, 25 September 1928. Rome
We [presumably King and his “confidential messenger,” J.S. Nicol] went to call on M. Mussolini. I confess I had no intention of so doing at the outset, but I have become enthused at the manner in which this country has been brought together & is going ahead, the order of it all, the fine discipline, the evident regard for authority & for M[ussolini] himself. It is government by a young man & young men. As we approached the offices we were held up by police, not allowed to make headway anywhere till full explanations given. I saw what government by dictatorship meant, but when one hears how he came with his blackshirts to the King, offered his services to clean up the government & House of representatives filled with Communists, banished them all to an island, cleaned the streets of beggars, & the houses of harlots one becomes filled with admiration. It is something I have never seen before and one feels it, in one’s bones. I had a very pleasant talk with his private secretary, M. Moneli [?], who said he thought M[ussolini] w[oul]d wish to see me & might arrange after Council of Ministers which lasts till 7. I feel the deepest sympathy for the man. I know what his work is. [The diary then refers to lunch at his hotel followed by a drive to the Palatine Hill and the Colosseum.]
There we spent some hours amid the ruins of the bye-gone years. My father [John King, who had died 30 August 1916] was very very near to me. What I owe to my parents. We are only what they have made us. It was on the Palatine Hill that 28 years ago I debated going to Ottawa & from here I turned my steps homeward — to Ottawa — to the Premiership of Canada.
Wednesday, 26 September 1928. Rome
I called on Mussolini at 10:30 as arranged. There were too many secret police, secretaries and messengers to pass. When I was shewn into his office he came forward from his desk where he had been writing, & with a smile & hand out-stretched greeted me in a friendly way & shewed me to a seat beside his desk. He took a chair in a corresponding position just opposite the light falling on my face & his being between me & the windows (much as King George at Buckingham Palace). I mentioned being in Italy & wishing to call & pay my respects while in the country, he thanked me then said How are your relations with England — He was interested in our self government. When I explained we were as free as Italy or any country it seemed to surprise him. I spoke of the last imperial conference, after he asked me if I had been at imperial conferences. Then he asked about the League of Nations & our having separate representation there & explained how Lord Cushendon [Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Acting Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom] and I had both had seats on the Council. Next he inquired of our relations with the U.S. I explained the friendly relations & the undefended frontier. He asked the size of Canada’s population. I s[ai]d about 10 million, he inquired “mostly French” I explained about 1/3 Fr[ench] & that other nationalities. I explained then about Legations in U.S. that seemed a surprise, I said we were opening a legation in France & Japan — which seemed to surprise him still more. I explained it was the logical development of self gov[ernmen]t in external as well as domestic affairs. This seemed to interest him greatly. He told me that in Italy they were mostly concerned at present with “streets and agriculture”.. I spoke of the fine appearance of the country, its evident progressiveness under his regime. Then got up to go, he asked me how long I w[oul]d be in Rome & smiled when I spoke of being there only for the day. As I was leaving for the door I told him of Guastalla having made my mother’s portrait bust & of having seen it at his studio the day before, also of my visit to the Palatine Hill 28 years ago & consideration there of return to Canada to start with the Gov[ernmen]t to organize a department of Labour. I wished him well & the necessary strength to carry on his work.
The impression he made upon [me] was a very real & very vivid one. He was more sparse in appearance — very dark — eyes very dark — with large white shewing — a head the shape of “Charlie Harriss” Indeed he is quite like him in appearance. There were evidences of sadness & tenderness as well as great decision in his countenance. His hand was much softer than I expected to find it. It seemed like a hand mostly given to office work. The head is a Napoleonic one in shape — a Roman through & through I should say. I would not have missed this conference for anything.
[King notes later that he is reading “a thrilling book,” M. Sarfatti’s The Life of Benito Mussolini.]
Thursday, 27 September 1928 [en route to Paris — reached there 2:30 p.m.]
All morning and afternoon on the train continued reading Mussolini’s life — a fascinating story. He has won his way deservedly to his present position, a truly remarkable man of force of genius, fine purpose, a great patriot [?]. It seems to me the people are truly governing themselves under his direction. The people not the classes have come into their own. It is interesting throughout Europe to see how Socialism has been the path to power in the assemblies [?] of Italy, France, Germany & also in Gr [ea]t Br[itain]. Those who have had at heart the well being of the people….
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1999) — Fall 1999 // Automne 1999, pp. 34–35. Read the rest of this issue →
