 However after reaching the rank of lieutenant he was demoted to private during the First World War for incompetence.His first political activity was in the "Association Italia e Vittorio Emanuele", a minor liberal group before in November 1920 he switched to the fascists, becoming political secretary in Florence.Given his noble background Perrone Compagni came to represent the conservative wing of fascism that looked out for the interests of landowners and magnates in opposition to the more proletarian wing that followed the rough and ready leadership of the likes of Tullio Tamburini.