Post by Diarist on Feb 6, 2016 13:26:41 GMT 1
In the evening the former Italian Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Dino Grandi met the German Foreign Secretary Konstantin Freiherr von Neurath at Trento, northern Italy. Germany is calling for Italy to support Austria becoming part of Greater Germany, a position which Italy has always opposed. Von Neurath argued that the situation has drastically changed and a unified Germany/Austria would have a common border with Italy thus enabling greater support from Germany once the conflict with Britain and France was over. Although reluctant to admit that Italy had suffered major defeats Grandi would return to Rome to convey the offer to Mussolini. Von Neurath would be travelling to Vienna the next day and hoped to meet a representative from Rome there with Mussolini's reply.
Grandi understood all too well that Germany was aiming to control an Italian puppet-state and not only annex Austria but he believed that there was room for bargaining. Mussolini would never accept Italy as a puppet-state.