Th e tone of British observations during the early days of the Fascist regime was not condemnation, but a nodding appreciation for the Fascist leader's good sense. Graham, for example, said that for Italy, “the chief failure lay in 'parliamentarianism'” (FO 371/7660, fol. 198). With its factious dynamics, parliamentarism— or democracy— only increased ungovernability at a moment when grave economic necessity and revolutionary threat called for something stronger.

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 1370