Silvio causes outrage by attempting a balanced view of Mussolini

If you read what Silvio actually said, he condemned racism.  Mussolini had no death camps and many Italians do think well of him to this day.  He was the only one who ever suppressed the Mafia, for instance.  It should be noted that Italy under Berlusconi had especially good relations with Israel

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi praised Benito Mussolini for 'having done good' despite the Fascist dictator's anti-Jewish laws, immediately sparking expressions of outrage as Europe on Sunday held Holocaust remembrances.

Berlusconi also defended Mussolini for allying himself with Hitler, saying he likely reasoned that it would be better to be on the winning side.

The media mogul, whose conservative forces are polling second in voter surveys ahead of next month's election, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony in Milan to commemorate the Holocaust.

'It is difficult now to put oneself in the shoes of who was making decisions back then,' Berlusconi said of Mussolini's support for Hitler. 'Certainly the (Italian) government then, fearing that German power would turn into a general victory, preferred to be allied with Hitler's Germany rather than oppose it.'

Berlusconi added that 'within this alliance came the imposition of the fight against, and extermination of, the Jews. Thus, the racial laws are the worst fault of Mussolini, who, in so many other aspects, did good.'

Outrage, along with a demand that Berlusconi be prosecuted for promoting Fascism, quickly followed his words.

Among those voicing condemnation were prominent Jewish figures abroad.  Mussolini `'modeled his anti-Jewish laws after the Nazi Nuremberg Laws barring Jews from civil service,' Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement.

`'It is the height of revisionism to try to reinstate an Italian dictator who helped legitimize and prop up Hitler as a `reincarnated good guy,'' said the rabbi, whose organization monitors anti-Semitic incidents worldwide.

Italian laws enacted following the country's disastrous experience in the war forbid the defense of Fascism. A candidate for local elections, Gianfranco Mascia, pledged that he and his supporters will present a formal complaint on Monday to Italian prosecutors, seeking to have Berlusconi prosecuted.

Hours later, Berlusconi issued a statement saying he `'regretted' that he didn't make clear in his earlier comments that his historical analyses `'are always based on condemnation of dictatorships,' the Italian news agency LaPresse reported.

Source