Mediterranean hegemon

Contini's fourth lawyer, Duccio, stood up and said, "Now let's proceed to the fifth statement. The defendant accused the plaintiff and the Youth Daily of whitewashing the truth, whitewashing the truth, and trying their best to cheer for the government in their reports, which actually deceived the people. This is a complete slander against the plaintiff. In fact, the Youth Daily has been published for less than three months, but it has done a lot of useful work in these three months. In addition to political articles, it has spared no effort in criticizing and supervising the government. The new government has a total of 16 cabinet departments. The plaintiff directly criticized 10 departments by name, and criticized the relevant supervisors of 5 departments without naming them. Only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not criticized because the diplomatic work has been active for more than two months and there is nothing special to criticize."

When this sentence was said, even Matteotti was confused. He sneered, "Are we not reading the same Youth Daily?"

"Whether it is the same newspaper, I will state the evidence." Duccio said calmly, "This is all supported by publicly issued newspapers , can't be fake. "

"The first cabinet department criticized by Youth Daily was the Ministry of Transport. The article was published on January 5th. The content is as follows: ... Since the Ministry of Transport began to take charge of the train delay rate in November, the Minister of Transport has achieved certain results, but there is still a gap from our expected goal. According to statistics, the major rectification of train schedules has clarified the two categories of technical delays and telephone delays. The goal is to significantly reduce technical delays and eliminate telephone delays. However, as of January, the average technical delay time has been reduced from 37 minutes to 21 minutes, and the telephone delay time has been reduced from 49 minutes to 6 minutes, which has not reached the expected goal. Youth Daily criticized this and submitted suggestions for improvement. First, technical delays should be reduced to within 18 minutes, and telephone delays should be completely eliminated. If someone calls to postpone the departure again, Youth Daily will publish the caller's name and reason... The Minister of Transport fully accepted this and thanked the newspaper for supervision. "

The reporters were stunned for a moment, and then they reacted: Is this considered criticism? This is more like public praise... but it can barely be considered criticism - criticism that progress is not fast enough.

Matteotti's face twitched, and he finally realized that he was fooled. To him, this report was naked praise, but the other party insisted on saying it was criticism. How could the government not accept this kind of "criticism"? It would be weird if they didn't accept it.

"The second department criticized by Youth Daily is the Ministry of the Interior. The content is as follows: ... Since the Rome Police Director, Mr. Grandini, took charge of the response time of police dispatch, certain results have been achieved, but there is still a big gap with the international level. According to statistics, the average response time of the Rome police in the past was 49 minutes. After strict rectification, it has increased to 41 minutes, but there is still a certain gap from the police management level of other national capitals such as Berlin's 29 minutes, London's 32 minutes, and Paris's 38 minutes. Youth Daily asked the Rome police to catch up as much as possible and reflect the majestic style of the management of the capital of a world power. Mr. Grandini humbly accepted the criticism and said that Rome is currently short of police force and too few motor vehicles, which is completely behind the international advanced level. Youth Daily expressed understanding of this and contacted United Motor Company to prepare to donate 20 police motorcycles in March to strengthen Rome's security patrols..."

Is this a criticism? Even the judge muttered, so let's just count it.

"The department criticized by Youth without naming it is the Ministry of Aviation. It points out that since it is clear that the construction of an independent air force is the general trend and the development of civil aviation is in the ascendant, the Ministry of Aviation should take the initiative and make some achievements. Mr. Douhet sincerely accepted the criticism and went to Germany for inspection. Then in January, he formally submitted the "Independent Air Force Organization Plan" and "Civil Aviation Development Concept" and other contents. It is currently under review. It is reported that the response is good and all parties are actively supporting it."

"The fourth department criticized by Youth is the Ministry of Army. It points out that since we need to do a good job in the resettlement of retired soldiers, we must break the routine and achieve innovation, and we cannot be limited to the rules and regulations. Mr. Diaz humbly recognized that after many negotiations with United Airlines, a package deal for air force equipment and personnel was achieved..."

"Youth criticized the Ministry of Personnel by name, believing that they were too lax in the management of civil servants, and lateness, early departure, and arbitrary absences occurred frequently. Prime Minister Mussolini worked from 8 am to 11 pm, and sometimes even holidays were not taken care of. Rest, in contrast, shouldn't some civil servants feel ashamed? The Prime Minister attached great importance to this criticism and personally instructed the Ministry of Personnel to cooperate with the public opinion circle to conduct open and secret investigations. In the end, 79 people were warned internally and 18 people were expelled or dismissed..." (In fact, this is targeted law enforcement, and those who were dismissed are all members of the Socialist Party and the Liberal Party)

"Youth also tactfully criticized Mr. Mussolini for focusing on the management of administrative affairs and reviewing official documents, and having too little contact with the people. It suggested that he take one day every month to listen to the voices of the masses, and it would be better if he could show up every day... The Prime Minister accepted the criticism wholeheartedly, and now has set up the Prime Minister's Letters and Visits Office, hired 3 secretaries to handle letters for him, and keep abreast of the public sentiment... Occasionally, he will show up on the balcony of the Prime Minister's Office and greet the masses..." (Mussolini personally handles and gives priority to letters written by young women with photos attached. The so-called greeting is to listen to the cheers and long live cheers of the fascists arranged in advance!)"

...

"It can be seen that my client, the Youth Daily, has spared no effort in criticizing and supervising the government. The depth of criticism, breadth of supervision, and depth of follow-up are almost unique among similar newspapers. This reflects the plaintiff and his The newspaper in charge has a pragmatic and rigorous work style. Each report is based on facts, supported by data, and based on on-the-spot investigation. It reflects the conscience of intellectuals and young students. It is not at all about praising virtues and whitewashing peace as the defendant said. It is not comparable to the defendants and their newspapers using empty words such as "corruption, incompetence and inefficiency" to attack the government. The words Mr. Matteotti usually writes are not criticism, they are abuse and wanton slander. Youth Daily started from scratch, and its current circulation has exceeded 10,000 copies, ranking among the top 15 newspapers in the country. This fully proves the seriousness and authenticity of the report. As far as I know, the circulation of "The Socialist" was at its highest The number of copies exceeds 100,000, and so far it is less than 60,000. Isn’t it the choice of readers to vote with their feet?”

In fact, the decline in the circulation of "Socialist" is closely related to the control of Mussolini's government, but Duccio changed the concept here and used the increase in the circulation of "Youth" and the decline in the circulation of "Socialist" to explain It contrasts the authenticity and reliability of the reports from both sides. Although it is very opportunistic, it cannot be refuted.

"In fact, the report on Mr. Matteotti is also a manifestation of this criticism. Of course, the government needs supervision, and parliamentarians who represent public opinion must also accept supervision. Mr. Matteotti's style in performing public functions Burnout and inefficiency have been shown in these several undercover visits, and the opacity of expense reimbursement also shocked us. If Mr. Matteotti really has a clear conscience, would he dare to explain clearly the ins and outs of each expense? What is it used for, who is it used for, when and where is it used?”

Duccio said with a smile: "It is also very regrettable that all the government departments and ministers in charge that we criticized accepted the criticism humbly and sincerely and said they would continue to improve. Only Mr. Matteotti reacted like he did after reading the critical article. Jumping like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, baring its teeth and claws, and being aggressive, this is not the way to treat criticism sincerely at all. If you think we are wrong about anything, for example, if you go in and out of Fengyue places, you actually don’t go in and out; for example, if you don’t Commute to and from get off work on time, you are actually the first to arrive and the last to leave every day; for example, if you falsely report invoices, you have not actually reimbursed the expenses at all... etc. You can argue, but we have not seen this between the lines at all. , all we see is you slandering, abusing, and slandering my client... This hooligan habit makes us very angry, but we will not fight back with the same hooligan habit, so we decided to resort to the most rigorous and fair court in the new era. Italian judges, please judge impartially!”

Now everyone in the audience understands why a barrister is called a barrister. He must have two skills...