General secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions GAWAIN LITTLE calls for support and participation in the national partnership organised to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1926 general strike
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100 years ago – why was Giacomo Matteotti murdered by Mussolini’s secret police?
ALFIO BERNABEI presents evidence that it was the Italian Socialist MP’s attempt – weeks before his death – to build an anti-fascist platform in Britain that cost him his life, as he vainly sought to prevent Italy from falling into dictatorship
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AT THE end of his four-day clandestine visit to London in April 1924, Giacomo Matteotti, the Italian secretary of the Socialist Party and a prominent MP, was asked by the Daily Herald if he was not afraid to return to his country.
“My life is always in danger,” he replied. “This is what I want you to understand.” He had every reason to fear for his life. Regarded as the arch-enemy of Mussolini, who was head of government and foreign minister, he had been denied a passport to prevent him from meeting representatives of foreign organisations. It wouldn’t be long before someone would let him know that he had gone a step too far.
Less than two months later, the search for his body was continuing in and around Rome.
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