history - Rise of Mussolini facts

1919 march

March – First meeting of Fasci de Combattimento

1919 June

June – Treaty of St Germain. Orlando resigned as PM and was replaced by Nitti.

1919 Sept

            Sept  - Occupation of Fiume by D’Annunzio

1919 Nov

Nov – PPI established and General Election using PR resulted in political deadlock

1919-1920

        Biennio Rosso (strikes, lockouts, demonstrations, land occupations)

1920 June

Nitti replaced by Giolitti as PM

1920 Sept

Workers seized control of many northern factories

1920 Dec

D’Annunzio forced out of Fiume

1921 May

PCI formed and General Election continued political deadlock but Fascists gained 35 seats

1921 June

Giolitti replaced by Bonomi as PM

1921 Aug

Pact of Pacification

1921 Nov

PNF’s New Programme

1922 Jan

Pius XI became Pope

1922 Feb

Bonomi replaced by Facta as PM

1922 Aug

General strike collapsed in 24 hours

1922 Oct x5

27 Oct – Fascists seized control of some provincial cities and waited outside of Rome

28 Oct – King approved martial law and then changed his mind. Facta resigned as PM

29 Oct – Salandra unable to form a government and so king invited Mussolini to be PM

30 Oct – Mussolini arrived in Rome to accept his appointment as PM

31 Oct - March on Rome

Salandra’s actions in helping Mussolini get power

Failed to ‘absorb’ Mussolini in a coalition government in October 1922. Advised the king not to appoint Giolitti, his arch rival, as PM but choose Mussolini instead.

Giolitti’s actions in helping Mussolini get power

Reduced impact of the Bienno Rosso by making concessions (bread subsidies, 8 hour working day, fairer tax system and legalised land occupations). Legitimised Mussolini by including him in party list for 1921 election. Hoped that the king might appoint him PM during the crisis of October 1922 but the call never came.

Orlando actions in helping Mussolini get power

Signed the ‘Mutilated Treaty’ of St Germain in 1919. Negotiated with Mussolini to form a coalition but it came to nothing

Facta actions in helping Mussolini get power

Failed to obtain the King’s approval for martial law in October 1922

ALL PMs actions in helping Mussolini get power

 5 Prime Ministers in 4 years (1919-22). As each one failed to last longer than a year, Mussolini became a more viable candidate for the top job.

General Diaz actions in helping Mussolini get power

Commander of army 1917-22. Victor of Vittorio Veneto. Told the king that the army would obey orders but should not put its loyalty to the test during the March on Rome.

general Badolgio actions in helping Mussolini get power

Confident that the army could crush the Fascist threat of the March on Rome

Don Sturzo actions in helping Mussolini get power

leader of the PPI Catholic Party formed in 1919. Unwilling to work with the Socialists and only reluctantly with the Fascists

Pope Pius XI actions in helping Mussolini get power

became pope in January 1922 and was more sympathetic to fascism than his predecessor. Overruled Don Sturzo by ordering him to join Mussolini’s coalition in October 1922

King Victor Emmanuel actions in helping Mussolini get power

Timid personality. Changed his mind about imposing martial law in October 1922.

D’Annunzio actions in helping Mussolini get power

Nationalist leader who occupied Fiume for 15 months (1919-20)

Pirelli actions in helping Mussolini get power

A leading industrialist who favoured the Fascists

Balbo & Farinacci actions in helping Mussolini get power

local fascist leaders

Duke of Aosta actions in helping Mussolini get power

Victor Emmanuel III feared that his cousin, who was a fascist, might replace him as king should Mussolini’s appointment as PM be resisted.

Quadrumviri

4 Fascist leaders who organised the March on Rome in October 1922

Ras

Local fascist leaders

Squadristi

Fascist Black shirts who used violence against Socialists

Proportional Representation

Electoral system introduced by Prime Minister Nitti (Radical Party) in 1919 resulting in a series of unstable coalition governments and encouraged the splintering of parties

Universal suffrage

Every man had the vote regardless of literacy

Prefects

Representatives of central government responsible for law and order in the provinces

Treaty of London

Italy agreed to join the Allies in 1915 in return for irredente lands (South Tyrol, Trentino and Istria were honoured). Fiume and no specific German or Turkish colonies mentioned.

Mutilated Peace

Reference to the treaty of St Germain (Versailles settlement) in which Italy failed to gain Fiume, the Dalmatian coast and any German or Turkish colonies.

Bienno Rosso

Two Red Years’ of strikes, factory occupations and violent riots. Fear of Socialism grew out of all proportion to the real threat but it was main reason why the propertied classes flocked to the Fascists.

March on Rome

threat of the march that was intimidating. Actual march in Rome was on the day after Mussolini was appointed PM

1919 PNF Programme

Abolition of monarchy, confiscation of inherited wealth, war profits and church property,      8 hour day and workers’ participation in management, nationalisation of arms factories. Italy to take Fiume and Dalmatia. The extreme left-wing programme alienated the conservative elites but didn’t win over workers who stayed loyal to the PSI. Mussolini learned his lesson by shifting to the right in the New Programme.

1921 New Programme

Republicanism dropped. No mention of confiscating inherited wealth and church property, 8 hour day except for agricultural and industrial requirements, privatisation of nationalised industries, complete unification of Italy and major role in Mediterranean. The programme used many platitudes (meaningless slogans) so that people could read into it what they wanted and thereby widen the party’s appeal.

Liberal Party

Having dominated parliament since unification, the Liberal vote collapsed in the 1919 election. It remained divided between factions led by personalities such as Giolitti and Salandra, who spent much of their time undermining each other. Yet the Liberals remained in every government in various combinations with Radical, Catholic and Fascist coalitions.

PSI

n 1919 the Socialists became the biggest party in Parliament with 31% of the vote. But no other party wished to join them in a coalition and so it was destined to be excluded from power. They also lacked an inspiring leader and coherent strategy. Too many of them were happy to ‘talk the talk’ but were not prepared to ‘walk the walk’.