5. Mussolini Consolidation of Power PDF

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5. Mussolini Consolidation of Power...

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Mussolini Consolidation of Power Overview Stage 1 - Consolidation - 1922 Oct - Mussolini prime minister. - 1922 Nov - Parliament passes vote of confidence in new government by 306 to 116. - Mussolini granted emergency powers for one year. - 1922 December - Fascist Grand Council created, controlled by Mussolini. - 1923 - Economic recovery continued. - 1923 Jan - Decree creates Fascist Militia. Incorporates the Fascist squads. - 1923 Feb - Nationalist Association joins Fascist Party. Concessions to the Pope. - 1923 Apr - Catholic Popolari Party dropped from the government. - 1923 Jul - Acerbo law guarantees two-thirds of the seats in Parliament to the largest party. - 1923 Aug - Foreign policy success in Corfu. - 1924 Jan - Italy gains long-claimed port of Fiume. - 1924 Apr - In election, Fascists win 66% of the vote. Stage 2 - Dictatorship - 1924 June - Socialist leader Matteotti murdered. Opposition ministers walk out of Parliament. - 1924 July - Press censorship introduced. Opposition parties’ meetings banned. - 1925 Jan - Mussolini accepts responsibility for Fascist violence. Wave of arrests and the closure of hostile groups. - 1925 May - Dopolavoro, mass leisure organisation, created. - 1925 Oct - Battle for Grain launched to increase grain production. - 1925 Dec - Press censorship strengthened. - 1926 Jan - Law passed giving Mussolini right to issue decrees. - 1926 Feb - Elected majors replaced by new appointed officials. - 1926 Apr - Strikes forbidden. Balifa, Fascist youth organisation, founded. - 1926 July - Ministry of Corporations created. - 1926 Oct - Opposition parties banned. - 1926 Nov - Special Tribunal for the Defence of the State and OVRA (secret police). - 1926 Dec - Value of lira raised to 90 to the pound. - 1927 Apri - Labour Charter issued granting workers’ rights. - 1928 May - New electoral law replaces election of individual MPs in favour of a plebiscite system. Stage 3 - Consensus - 1929 Feb - Concordat agreement with the Pope. - 1929 Mar - Plebiscite overwhelmingly approves government list of Deputies. - 1931 - Tension with Church over Catholic Action. - New penal code drawn up by Justice Minister Rocco. - 1934 July - Mussolini defends Austrian independence. - 1935 Oct - Italy invades Abyssinia. Stage 4 - Radicalisation and Collapse - 1936 May - Victory in Abyssinia.

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1936 July - Italian troops sent to help Franco in Civil War 1936 Oct - Axis agreement with Nazi Germany. 1937 May - Ministry of Popular Culture to organise propaganda and culture. 1937 Nov - Italy joins Anti-Comintern Pact against USSR with Germany and Japan. 1937 Dec - Italy withdraws from League of Nations. 1938 - Reforms of Customs aimed at changing Italians’ behaviour. 1938 July - Racial Laws discriminating against Jews. 1939 Mar - Chamber of Fasces and Corporations created to replace Parliament. 1939 Apr - Italy invades Albania. 1939 May - Pact of Steel - Formal alliance with Germany. 1940 June - Italy declares war on France and Britain. 1940 Oct - Italy invades Greece. 1940 Nov - Italy invades Egypt. 1941 June - Italy declared war on USSR. 1941 Dec - Italy declared war on USA. 1942 - Series of Italian defeats in Africa. 1943 July - American/British troops land in Sicily. Mussolini dismissed by King and arrested. Fascism dissolved. 1943 Sept - New government declares war on Germany. Germany invades North Italy. - Mussolini installed as head of Salo Republic. 1945 Apr - Mussolini killed by Italian Communist guerrillas. 1946 June - Republic proclaimed after a referendum.

Mussolini faced many problems - He was one of only four Fascists in the Cabinet. - There were only 35 Fascists in the 535 member chamber of deputies. - Fascism had won the support of only 7% of the voters, achieving power partly through threats and violence. - Previous Italian governments had lasted on average under two years and Mussolini’s government faced the same problems that the previous ones had failed to solve. - Mussolini had no detailed programme of policies and little experience running anything except a newspaper. - Mussolini’s own supporters were divided between moderates and radicals. How did Mussolini initially consolidate his power? - His first parliamentary speech indicated that his rule would be a mix of legality and intimidation. - This was just how he had already come to power - both by being chosen by the King and by marching on Rome. - Mussolini realised that the support of the elite was more important for his chances of staying in power than that of radical Fascists. - In November 1922, Parliament granted him emergency powers for 1 year in order to deal with the country’s problems. - Immediately, he used his power to move towards authoritarianism. - He made concessions to the church and passed measures favourable to industrialists and agrarians. - He took credit for the recovering economy, even though Europe was under a general

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recovery. He argued that the government needed to be stronger and hence replaced the proportional representation system with a plebiscite system - the Acerbo Law. The chamber was intimidated into passing it by a number of blackshirts. The Acerbo Law asserted that any party obtaining 25% of the vote would gain ⅔ of the seats. Violence: For the 1924 elections, a socialist candidate was killed, meetings were stopped and hostile voters were intimidated. Some Fascist voters were allowed to vote multiple times. The ras intimidated opponents in small towns, though not in larger ones where there was a small presence of worker’s unions. Lyttleton in The Seizure of Power - The use of violence, police repression and electoral fraud was on such a large scale that the expression of popular will was radically falsified. Fascists gained ⅔ of the seats in the chamber of deputies. Socialist and Catholic seats had been reduced.

Why did Mussolini have popular support? - Seemed capable of removing the anarchy and socialism from Italy. - Had support from the Pope. - Seen as uniting Italy. - Italy hadn’t had much success with democracy, so they almost welcomed the promise of a dictatorship. Violence: The Matteotti crisis - On 30 May 1924 Matteotti stood in the Chamber of Deputies and denounced the violence of the Fascists and called for the cancellation of the fraudulent election results. - Fascists officials continually tried to interrupt, but Matteotti kept going, taking 2 hours. - As Matteotti left the chamber that day, he said to a friend, “Now you can prepare my funeral oration.” - 11 days later, Fascist ex-squad members bundled him into a car and began stabbing him. - 2 months later he was found in a grave 23 km from Rome. - The car was traced belonging to a leading Fascist. And the investigation then tracked down a member of the Cheka (named after Lenin’s secret police). - People widely believed that Mussolini had ordered him to be killed.

How did Mussolini respond to the Matteotti crisis? - Mussolini was at a turning point. He could follow on from the violent beginnings of the Matteotti crisis, or he could condemn the attack and follow the legal path. - Mussolini’s first response was to combine repression and concession. - The militia was mobilised and tighter controls were put on the press. - The militia was integrated into the armed forces and made a new oath of

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loyalty to the King. Suspects in the Matteotti crisis, Rossi and Chief of Police “de Bono” were sacked. The conservative Federzoni replaced Mussolini as Interior Minister. Still, emerging evidence tied Mussolini to Fascist violence. For example, on 27 December, Rossi published a testimony which stated that Mussolini was at the head of Fascist murders. Mussolini decided to take the plunge. On 3 January 1925 he addressed the Chamber of Deputies. He took responsibility for the Fascist violence, though not directly for the murder of Matteotti, and announced that he would set up a dictatorship within 48 hours. Following the speech there were a wave of arrests. Across 1925 and 1926, Mussolini took authoritarian control through a series of repressive policies. Mussolini given power to issue decrees. Power given to government to strike out against critics. New secret police - the OVRA - established. Other parties banned. Elected councils dropped in favour of appointed officials. Government no longer a ministry but more a regime. Mussolini appointed radicals into important party positions.

Therefore the Matteotti crisis was significant as it stimulated Mussolini to take action and enforce his rule.

Summary: How did Mussolini consolidate his dictatorship? 1. October 1922: Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of new “National Government” with three other Fascists. 2. November 1922: Government easily wins vote of confidence in Parliament, and is voted emergency powers to reform the administration and tax system. 3. Dec-Jan, Fascist Grand Council and Militia set up. 4. Feb 1923: Nationalists join Fascist party. 5. July 1923: Acerbo Election Law. 6. April 1924: New elections. Government wins 66% of the votes. 7. June 1924: Matteotti murdered. Major crisis about the nature of Fascist rule. Was it thugs in charge? 8. 3 Jan 1925: Mussolini addresses parliament and takes responsibility for violence. Series of arrests. Most MPs withdraw in opposition. Mussolini under attack from all sides. Major crisis. 9. Dec 1925: Law on powers of Head of Government; Mussolini granted great executive powers. Greater control of press, followed by purge of civil service. Podestas replace mayors. 10. Nov 1926-Jan 1927. Exceptional Decrees increase repression with new Special Tribunal and secret police (OVRA). Government/Parliament Policies

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Cabinet initially included representatives of every party except PSI and PCI. By mid1923 most had left. 1922 7% MPs Fascists, April 1924 66% Mussolini given great powers; could legislate by decree. Responsible to King not Parliament. Parliament lost power to initiate laws. 1925 All-Fascist cabinet.

Administration/Local Government - Immediate purge of opponents in civil service but no major change. - Local Socialist councils replaced. - Mussolini proclaimed the perfect supreme over the local party. - Judges, civil servants, teachers purged. - Elected municipal councils eliminated. - 7 000 government appointed Podestas replaced mayors. - Powers of prefects extended. Judiciary/repression - Existing court system used. - Hostile press, politicians intimiated. - Judiciary lost independence. - Special Tribunal for political crimes. - Law for Defence of State. Administrative powers widely used (a government official could order an arrest without justification). - Secret police OVRA created. - Free press ended. Trade Unions - Tolerated but intimidated. - Number of strikes fell. - 1926 Law on Corporations. - Fascist unions recognised as sole representatives of workers. - Strikes/lockouts illegal.

The Fascists - Fascist militia, MVSN, set up from squads. Paid for by state and took oath of loyalty to Mussolini. - Fascist Grand Council set up as rival to cabinet. - Fascists merged with Nationalists. - Mussolini centralised the Party. Other parties - Mussolini exploited tension between the PPI and Pope to weaken them. - In 1923 they left the cabinet. - PSI, PCI were tolerated, but activities were liable to disruption. - All non-Fascist parties suppressed.

Church - Concessions to Catholic church. Economy - From 1922, economic recovery. - Laissez faire policies favouring industrialists. Foreign policy - Intimiated Greece by invading Corfu, 1923. - Gained FIume, 1924....