Mediterranean hegemon

In fact, the political situation in Italy is not as drastic as Francesco thought, but it is not as calm as Contini said: the resignation of Ciano Sr. as Minister of Transport and his son as Minister of Transport is a very strong signal, and there was a discussion before the announcement of this decision.

Among the cabinet ministers, the Ministry of Transport is a private territory; Contini has a strong influence on the Ministry of Aviation (Air Force), and Balbo, who is in power, has a very good relationship with Ciano Sr., so he also agrees with it; the Ministry of Army and the Ministry of Navy have been defeated by the president's silver bullet for so many years, of course, they absolutely agree, especially the Ministry of Navy is now obsessed with the four 50,000-ton Veneto, and people are almost crazy; the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce are closely related to the United Group, and they can't hold on without support, so of course they have to say yes; Capello of the Ministry of Education was supported by Contini, and he was given the credit for the nine-year compulsory education for free, that is, the younger brother who waved the flag and shouted. …

Among the remaining departments, only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Agriculture can play a role. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior are directly controlled by Mussolini. They are directly what Mussolini meant. When it comes to centralization, it is quite comfortable for one person to control three departments, but when it comes to expressing opinions, the three departments can only be used as one. The Ministry of Justice is a hidden supporter of Contini, because the judicial system has been replaced by the Roman University School. There is also a Ministry of Agriculture, so it is natural that the one who has milk is the mother. Among these Italian consortiums, the United Group has more or less given some development funds to agriculture, so even if the Ministry of Agriculture will not support it, it will not oppose it.

In addition to the cabinet members, the four giants in Fascism are also very important. Balbo is one of the four giants. Of course, he supports Ciano. Marshal De Bono is not only the commander of the Italian National Army, but also the Minister of Colonial Affairs. He is very friendly to Contini, who advocates the development of Libya and the development of armaments. He is one of the supporters; Michelob Bianchi only obeys Mussolini and has no personal grudges with old Ciano. He is neutral; only Dino Gran is the first to seek a position in the cabinet and has set his sights on the Minister of Transport. He is an opponent, but his power is not enough - even if Mussolini supports him, his power is not enough.

So Contini has already considered the overall arrangement of returning to the country. The real difficulty is how to deal with his father. He can't say this. He can only let Agnes take action. Fortunately, she analyzed the pros and cons very "thoroughly". Old Ciano not only really accepted it, but also tried to find a way to lobby for his son - otherwise the 10 million US dollars would be in vain.

Of course, there is another plan, which is for Contini to serve as the Minister of the newly formed Ministry of Youth and concurrently as the President of the Development and Reform Commission, but there will be a problem here - it looks strange that both father and son are cabinet ministers and each is in charge of a department.

In fact, Contini does not want old Ciano to stay, because old Ciano's ideas on transportation construction have been restricted, and he is increasingly becoming an obstacle to Italy's infrastructure rather than a driving force. It is better to go to the Grand Fascist Committee to become a national leader with a high position and little power - because Italy has no deputy prime minister or deputy leader, so this is a standard second-in-command! With old Ciano's mind, he should like it very much.

After settling the situation of the party, government, and military, the last is the business world. The only family with national influence in the business world is Fiat's Agnelli family, but they are even more at odds with Mussolini. In addition, other companies have more or less close relations with the United Group. As long as they can share profits with them, it is not difficult to get support.

Even the elder Agnelli approved of Contini's appointment as Minister of Transport, because the facts of the past few years have proved that although the United Group acts in an overbearing manner in Italy, as long as they do not get involved, the other party will not take advantage of their dominant position. As for the interests, that can be discussed - didn't United Defense give the new tank blueprints to Fiat? It shows that the United Group will not eat alone, which is a good start, so the Agnelli family voted in favor of Contini's return to the country to preside over economic affairs.

Back then, the two young men - Agnelli Jr. vs. Ciano Jr. were regarded by the outside world as competitors for the next generation of business leaders. Unexpectedly, five years later, Agnelli Jr. can only preside over work under the protection of his father, while Ciano Jr. has completely stood in the center of the stage.

After a long time, Francesco asked cautiously: "What is your basic idea for the next step?"

He now couldn't understand this president and son-in-law more and more, and he actually used "you" to flatter.

Contini smiled and said, "Call me Gallais. We should not be so formal with each other. I have many ideas. In the final analysis, the current vested interest groups in Italy cannot be touched. Then we can find a way to use the harvested American funds to create a batch of new interests for everyone to share, in exchange for support from all sides and improve national strength. This is better. When I have a stable position and power, I can try to enter the deep waters of reform.

The Development and Reform Commission is first development, then reform. Only reform without development will anger the heavens and people, and all parties will jump up and down; only development without reform will make others do wedding clothes, and finally one day everything will be lost. Only when reform and development are fully promoted can Italy become bigger and stronger! Of course, comprehensive promotion does not mean going together. The two legs must walk together, but it does not mean walking side by side - wouldn't that turn into a zombie jumping? My slogan is, development first, then reform, prosperity first, then plastic surgery!"

Francisco laughed. After "we want prosperity and strength, not freedom", the son-in-law has a new quote.

"By the way, I hired two professors as personal economic consultants. One is Fisher - the one who went bankrupt by stock trading. He can hardly survive in the United States; the other is Schumpeter - the one who talks about the five innovations. That one, he is German, and he wants these gentlemen to return to China to brainwash everyone." Contini laughed, "Both of them have experienced investment failures - Schumpeter failed in setting up a bank, and Fisher failed in speculating in stocks. , so they must have great ideas on how to develop again.”

In fact, Contini did not say that the person he most wanted to invite was John Maynard Keynes. Unfortunately, this British professor used to be a representative of the Ministry of Finance at the Paris Peace Conference, and now he has accepted the invitation and started to chair the British Financial and Economic Adviser. If you want to work on a committee, you can’t ask for help.

Francisco was stunned: "Why do we invite these two professors? Do we rely on them to formulate policies?"

"Of course not. The professor lacks political and social concepts in his mind and does not understand the complex human heart. Relying only on experts to formulate policies will lead to the destruction of the country." Contini laughed, "These two experts were invited by me to professionally argue. When I go to Italy to preside over comprehensive economic affairs, there must be countless overt and covert attacks waiting for me. It doesn’t matter what else is going on. The high ones are high, and the low ones are low. But there must be public intellectuals who attack me in the name of academic controversy. This time Unlike the last time Planned Parenthood, simply expelling people won’t work. We have to use authority against authority, and professors against professors!”

"Can these two professors be consistent with us?"

"Of course, I have helped Professor Schumpeter vigorously promote it, and his academic works have become best-sellers. I am very happy to accept the appointment. Although he does not agree with everything, he basically thinks what I said The view is in line with the five innovations and the law of medium- and long-term economic cycle changes;

As for Professor Fisher, after the bankruptcy of the stock market and the failure of the forecasting battle, he has completely become depressed, but his level is still there. Now his attitude has changed 180 degrees. He firmly believes in what I say and starts to blow my views. You have to know that professors generally have a problem. Once they identify the path, they will go all the way to the dark side. Even if the trend has changed, they will still stick to it. Therefore, if it is used well, it will be very useful..." Contini smiled, "This is also the reason why I am too lazy to reason with some stupid intellectuals. If they can't change their ways, it would be best to simply fire them! "