King's Crisis

Italians pay allegiance to II Duce, II Papa, II Re. It is no secret, even in censor-ridden Italy, that the agnostic peasant's son who commands the lion's share of the allegiance is quietly deplored by Pope and King. Last week that division in sentiment passed a crisis which has long been building up:

For one thing, Benito Mussolini and Vittorio Emmanuele III differ about the future of the House of Savoy. II Duce is amused by his little King, but far from amused by Crown Prince Umberto, Italy's most stubborn antiFascist. The Fascist oath of allegiance, once addressed "to the King and his successors," has been shorn of the last three words. Crown Prince Umberto rarely appears at Fascist celebrations. His sympathizers like to say that he once challenged Benito Mussolini to a duel, still speaks to him like a Prince addressing his Premier.

Furthermore, to aristocratic Italians, and thus to the "King's party," the alliance with Germany is plainly abhorrent. They dislike the fact that the German Gestapo operates in Italy. They long for the days when Italy followed Britain's lead in international affairs. They are but little impressed by II Duce's imperial ambitions. In a war they would try to keep Italy from becoming the ally of Germany.

While not politically of much power, the royal family nevertheless has strong adherents in the Army and Navy. Crown Prince Umberto is regarded as an Army man, faithfully appears at Army functions. No legislation of II Duce has been more unpopular than his anti-Jewish decrees, and in no place were they more unpopular than in the Navy.

One more cause of friction is personal dislike between the House of Savoy and the Ciano family. II Duce's favorite daughter, Countess Edda Ciano, does not even rate as a royal lady in waiting, is ignored by Queen Elena. Moreover, it was Count Galeazzo Ciano and the scheming Edda who were personally active in bringing Italy into the German alliance, and who have since been working for a social revolution in Italy along the lines of the Nazi one in Germany. Before Adolf Hitler came into power, Benito Mussolini was willing to let things in Italy go on pretty much as they had always been.

Unhappy over his lot because of all these things, Vittorio Emmanuele III has several times been rumored on the point of abdication. Last week correspondents learned that when the mild little King heard of Premier Mussolini's plans to invade Albania, he sent Crown Prince Umberto to call on His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, not once but twice. One interview lasted 45 minutes. Its burden: Rome and Berlin having been politically hyphenated while the King was on the throne, there was nothing he personally could do about splitting the combination; but perhaps if he abdicated in favor of his son, Italy might stand a better chance of escaping from the axis. Would Pius XII put either his Papal blessing or his political okay on such a succession?

The Pope thought it over--taking into consideration such factors as the royal sympathies of popular Marshal Pietro Badoglio, the rising popularity, even among Fascists, of the Church, and his own sympathies--and then counseled calling the whole idea off. Said II Duce, when he heard of the talks: "I am ready to face a crisis of regime and if it should become necessary the regime is strong enough to get along by itself."

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