Page:Grigory Zinoviev - Report of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (1921).pdf/82

 course I cannot anticipate the attitude of the new Executive to such questions. I do think, however, that after the Congress has registered—unanimously, I hope—its decision concerning the Italian question, no member of the Communist International will come out with such articles. (Approval.)

Comrades, I believe that in the Italian question, more than in all other questions, the Executive has the unanimous support of the Third World Congress. This we state with satisfaction, As has been said, the Italian question has been the most important political question of the year. It has been shown that in respect to this question, the point of view of Comrade Zetkin was wrong, while that of the Executive was right. I must emphasise this because Comrade Zetkin in her speech insisted that she was justified in leaving the Central Committee because of the Italian question. You will recollect that Comrade Zetkin said that the representative of the Executive, Comrade Rakosi, had made this and that declaration about Livorno, that he had said that Livorno was an example, that other parties should follow; that she, Comrade Zetkin, was unable to reply to this statement but that she was bound to sound the alarm, which she did by quitting the Central Committee of the V.K.P.D. I think such standpoint is entirely untenable. In the first place, there are many means of sounding the alarm, without the necessity of leaving the Central Committee. Comrade Zetkin did not write a single letter to the Executive, although she was a member of the Executive. I believe she was in Moscow much later than Rakosi; she took part in all the discussions of the Executive, but never manifested any great divergence of opinion so far as principles were concerned. She knew quite well that we were not in favour of sectarianism; it was upon her urging that I went to Halle. When I came back from Halle, if I am not mistaken, Comrade Zetkin was still stay-