1. Mussolini: Rise to Power

2. Long Term Causes  Italy was unified, but not united.  Weak Liberal Monarchy  Regional Differences  North – industrial and more prosperous  South – agricultural and poor  Cultural differences  Politically Fractured  Liberals versus Socialists and Anarchists  Church hostility  Imperial aspirations

3. Italy and WW1  Delayed entering the war due to territorial aspirations  Neutrality vs Intervention  Interventionists were a strange mix of ultra-nationalists and socialists  Treaty of London – 1915 – entered the war on the side of the Allies.

4. Outcome of the War  The war was a disaster for Italy  Peace treaties did not give the Italians what they desired.  National debt increased due to war borrowing from UK and US  Inflation running at 400%  Impacted the middle class who lost their investments and savings  Unemployment at 2 million  Loss of real wages  Heightened North/South divisions  Northern industries profited from the war.

5. Mutilated Victory  Italy entered the war with great hopes for economic development and territorial expansion  Got neither  D’Annunzio coined the phrase “mutilated victory.”

6. Biennio Rosso  Two red years  Period of strikes and civil unrest  Factory and land occupations  Government does not take action – but encourages compromise.  Encourages land and factory owners to make concessions to stave off a socialist revolution.  Heightened frustration among Factory and land owners.  Fascists appear on the scene to support the owners.

7. Fascism Awakens  Fascist groups had formed all over central and northern Italy.  No unified organisation or ideology  Largely made up of ex-soldiers (officers and NCO’s)  Arditi – the daring ones – Black Shirts  Targetted socialists and trade unions.  Hire themselves out to the elites to challenge the red threat.  Mussolini tries to create a united party – The Fascists of the First Hour  Opposed by Ras  Common ideology – hatred of the liberal state and socialists and a belief in violence.

8. The First Steps  Mussolini continues to build alliances with the economic elite.  Continues to beat the drum of anti-Bolshevism  Participates in the 1921 election – a coalition with other groups.  1921 first election with proportional representation  Fascists win 7% of the vote, giving them 35 seats in parliament.  Mussolini is one of the chosen ones.

9. Mussolini and the Elites  The elites saw the liberal governments as weak and ineffective.  They were threatened by the increasing militancy of the socialists and anarchists.  General strike of 1921  They had political and imperial aspirations.  Mussolini’s new party – the PNF (National Fascist party) offered a viable alternative.  An organised and united political party  Against socialism and liberalism  Promised a strong and ordered Italy

10. Why were Mussolini and the Fascists successful?  Liberals were a spent force  There was a real socialist threat – Italy was on the verge.  Fascists promised order and dignity.

11. The March on Rome  1922  More myth than reality  The country was in chaos  Fascist groups had seized power in the north and were demanding more control.  Balbo pressures Mussolini to become more aggressive in his pursuit of power.  The PM urges the King to declare martial law – ultimately refuses.  Offers Mussolini the role of PM – Mussolini accepts and takes power  March continues, but is a moot point.

12. Fascist Ideology  There is NO clear idoelogy – it is a party of “anti”.  Mussolini declared it a party of “action and mood, not doctrine.”  Anti  Liberal  Socialism  Democracy  Pacifism  Pro  Action  Authority  The State

13. Fascism – attempts at definition  Alexander de Grand (historian on Italian Fascism – origins and development)  Five Contradictory Beliefs  National Syndicalism – the left of the party – republican and anti-clerical  Technocratic Fascism – Modernists  Rural fascism – anti-urban and anti-modern  Conservative Fascism – tradition, monarchy and church  Nationalist Fascism – authoritarian and imperialist

14. Fascist Ideology cont’d  Generic Fascism  Populist and revolutionary  Undermine or destroy existing political order  Leadership priniple  Action and violence