Mussolini never killed anyone, Berlusconi says
Friday, September 12, 2003 at 07:00 JST ROME - Italy's outspoken Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi unleashed new controversy Thursday, declaring that the former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini did not kill anyone, just sent them on holiday. "Mussolini never killed anyone. Mussolini used to send people on holiday within the borders of the country," Berlusconi was quoted as telling the Voce di Rimini newspaper. His comment immediately triggered outrage in Italy, with some claiming it was an apology for fascism and embarrassed his coalition partners, even though Berlusconi said he had not intended to rewrite his country's history. "These are shameful remarks," said the leader of the country's main left-wing opposition party Piero Fassino. Mussolini's fascist blackshirts ruled Italy between 1922 and 1943 before he was executed at the end of World War II. The remarks came in the second instalment of a long interview Berlusconi gave to two British journalists, including Boris Johnson, editor of the Spectator, a London-based weekly. The first instalment caused a scandal last week when Berlusconi said some Italian magistrates were "mentally deranged."
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