(T) Significance of Mussolini's Relationship with the Political and Economic Elite

What was Mussolini's relationship with the Monarchy?

- Italy was a constitutional monarchy until 1943
- political compromise with the monarchy -- sharing power in a way
- worked with Victor Emmanuel III but slowly eroded his power
in 1928, FGC granted right to limit King's power to nominate future PMs
in 1938, the First Marshal of the Empire (shared b/w M and King) was formed, depriving King of his sole right to be supreme military commander
in 1940, Italy entered WWII and Mussolini became sole supreme military commander
- king was technically the head of state and could remove mussolini, but he did nothing to minimise the eroded power of his throne
unwilling to challenge mussolini
--> a political balancing act suiting both of them, as Mussolini was the dictator but the King still had significant power and sway

What was Mussolini's relationship with the conservative elite?

- needed them to cement and retain his power
especially the army, judiciary, and civil service
- legal system was largely independent from the PNF, although many judges joined to retain their positions
- Mussolini was minister of war but left the armed forces to the under-secretaries and their own devices
- conservative elites could maintain their influential positions in the political system, although some were removed due to antifascist political ties
- the positions of prefect and podestà enabled mussolini to give the conservative elite power while still maintaining control
--> the old ruling class retained positions of power within the dictatorship, strengthening Mussolini's control through their support even though he couldnt take full fascist control of government

What was Mussolini's relationship with the central government?

- structure of central government changed greatly in 1925:
Mussolini was only accountable to the king, not to parliament
Mussolini could decide what parliament discussed and only he could initiate legislation
- in may 1928, parliament changed to be made up of 400 deputies chosen by the FGC
- FGC was formalised later in 1928 in the constitution, however Mussolini still pulled the strings --> it also had limited influence for example on the agreement with the catholic church in 1929 or Italy's entry into WWII
- senate was left unchanged by Mussolini, and almost 150 senators were not PNF members in 1932 (accomodating conservative elite)

what was mussolini's relationship with the local government?

- prefects retained their position as the highest state authority in each province
- Mussolini did not allow the ras to take control of provinces, instead leaving these duties to the prefects
- prefects were appointed by Mussolini although not always fascists
- local councils were run by podestà, appointed by prefects, usually given to the conservative elite as opposed to fascists
- although not fascists, they owed their positions to mussolini and worked to strengthen his personal dictatorship

what was mussolini's relationship with the PNF?

minimised his own party's power to ensure his own
- appointed Farinacci in 1925 to purge dissidents --> however, he had to be replaced by Augusto Turati after inciting the murder of 8 liberals in Florence
- Turati expelled 50-60,000 PNF members by 1929, followed by 110,000 who left voluntarily
- Giuriati replaced Turati in 1931 purged another 120,000 members
- these numbers were replaced by around 800,000 new fascists, mainly clerks and civil servants who had little interest in fascist revolution or challenging mussolini
- in 1933, membership became compulsory for these workers, and the party became dominated by middle-class members who would not challenge mussolini's position
--> needed to ensure central power lay with him alone and not the PNF

What was Mussolini's relationship with the nationalists?

- Nationalist Federzoni was appointed minister of the interior in 1924, placating the old conservative elites during the Matteotti crisis
- former ANI members tended to follow the directions of Mussolini
- former ANI members would influence the direction of fascist educational policy and ministerial roles
--> the minister of communications served from 1924-34, the longest serving besides Mussolini
- nationalists took on even greater importance in the late 1930s as Mussolini's militaristic policies became more aggressive
--> mussolini's aggressive foreign policy was likely heavily influenced by nationalist ideals

What was mussolini's relationship with economic interest groups?

- needed to placate large interest groups like Fiat and Pirelli and protect small shop owners as well
- fascist trade union policy had been adapted to consider the interest of the industrialists and syndicalists
- Palazzo Vidoni Pact in 1925 recognised fascist syndicates as the only representative body for Italian workers
- conservative industrial elite were concerned by the idea of employers and employees working together to run the economy, and Mussolini didn't want to alienate them
- 1926 Rocco Law allowed syndicates some rights of representation and compulsory arbitration of pay disputes
BUT strikes, lockouts, etc were banned and syndicates had no say in government policy
- during the Great Depression, the government supported big businesses and encouraged wage cuts for workers, favouring interest of big industry over individuals
--> richer industrial and agricultural groups benefited from fascist economic policies, and workers' interests were secondary concerns