Italian diplomacy and public doubt

Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano was expected to notify governments before Mussolini spoke so that the declaration followed diplomatic convention rather than arriving by fiat. The hurried process contrasts with the public's lack of enthusiasm, which supporters tried to explain through cold weather, hunger, and fatigue. The muted response may instead reflect Italians' family ties with America and their awareness of the United States' size, resources, and reputation as a land of opportunity. The strategic objection is that American factories' sales to Britain gave Italy no direct operational need to add America as an enemy. By declaring, it changed a supplier of matériel into a belligerent able to send personnel and expand the war far beyond Italy's capacity.