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criticised us more than you did. But, as you have not done so, I can afford to be very brief. I have nothing to add on the Italian question after the speeches of comrades Gennari, Rakosi, Lenin, Rakovsky, Trotsky and others. I am fully in accord with them. I note with satisfaction that Comrade Zetkin is now willing to support the attitude of the Executive in the Italian question. With regard to this question I should like to draw the attention of Comrade Zetkin to the following quotation that appeared in the June issue (No. 3, p. 84) of the "Soviet," published by Paul Levi, with the collaboration of a number of comrades: "The results of the election signify the defeat of the Italian Communist Party and the overwhelming victory of the Italian Socialist Party:—121 mandates for the Italian Socialist Party, 16 mandates for the Communists. Such defeat cannot be described otherwise than as a catastrophy. And this is not only the defeat of the Italian Communist Party but also of the Executive of the Third International and the V.K.P.D. as well."
As you see, there are altogether too many defeats in this little quotation, and yet—(Interjection—"The article is by Kurt Geyer!"). Yes, by Kurt Geyer, who claims to be in the Communist International, who left the Central Committee of the V.K.P.D. together with this group. I hope that Comrade Zetkin will succeed in convincing Kurt Geyer that he was wrong.
When a young Communist Party, surrounded by enemies, obtains 400,000 votes and 16 mandates, this is by no means a defeat. Still less can it be considered as a defeat for the Communist International, even as it is no defeat for the International when Scheidemann can still obtain millions of votes after the murder of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.
Such assertions are clearly intended as a cowardly thrust in the back of the Italian Communist Party. It is also obvious that after this Congress there can be no question of tolerating things of this kind. Of
