Mussolini's consolidation/maintenance of power
Act
Rule by decree
(November 1922)
Explanation
Parliament gave Mussolini to rule by decree for one year, which essentially allowed Mussolini to pass laws and
without consulting congress.
Mussolini claimed that this would only be a temporary measure until Italy was stabilised, yet it allowed him to
execute acts as he saw fit.
Factor
Use of legal
methods/
Charismatic
leadership
He was supported by many conservatives, and prominent Liberals like Facta and Giolliti, with the main
opposition being the Communists and the Socialists.
The creation of
the Grand Council
of Fascism
(December 1922)
To consolidate his position and power, Mussolini created the Grand Council of Fascism in order to obtain control of
the Fascist Party.
He gave himself the power to make all of the appointments of the Grand Council, allowing him to control
Fascist policy.
Mussolini needed to centralise power to assert his position, as he had conflicting interests with the Ras, who
were provincial Fascits leaders in Italy:
E.g→ Mussolini wanted a monolithic Fascist state led by the Duce (himself), whereas the Ras sought a more
decentralised Fascist state.
Hence, Mussolini constantly attempted to diminish power from his enemies:
E.g2→ In January 1923 he further diminished the power of provincial Fascits leaders (Ras) by merging
individual Fascist squads into a 30,000 men national militia.
The national militia was essentially his private army which he used to continue intimidating the opposition.
Use of legal
methods
Gained the
support of the
Church
(1923)
In order to secure the Church’s support, which was a very powerful body in Italian society, Mussolini offered to:
- Help the struggling Catholic bank.
Use of Persuasion/
Charismatic
leadership
- Make religious education compulsory.
- Ban contraception
Gained the
support of big
businesses
Mussolini promised the confidrustia (employer’s organisation) that:
- Tax evasion would not be investigated by the government.
Use of Persuasion/
Charismatic
leadership
- Price and rent controls would be abolished.
Increased
parliamentary
strength
(1923)
With his rule by decree coming to an end, Mussolini needed to increase his parliamentary strength in order to
hold a majority in parliament and pass his desired policies.
Use of Persuasion/
Charismatic
leadership
To do this, he persuaded nationalists to join the Fascist Party.
This increased his political support and number of votes in parliament, which would be pivotal for his next
move: The Acerbo Law
The Acerbo Law
(July 1923)
Mussolini proposed that the political party that had received the most votes should win ⅔ of the seats in the
Chamber of Deputies.
This essentially made it impossible for the Fascist Party , and its allies to be voted out of parliament.
Mussolini argued that the law would prevent weak government coalitions, like the ones of Liberal Italy, by
securing that the government would be supported by the majority of MPs, which would allow issues to be dealt
with decisively.
The Acerbo Law was supported by the majority of parliament.
During the vote, however; armed Fascists were patrolling the Chamber of deputies.
Use of legal
methods / coercion
Mussolini had already guaranteed the support of most liberals, nationalists, and the Church. This together
with the slight fear brought about by the armed Fascists allowed the Law to be passed easily.
Truthly, however; many MPs were fond of the idea of a government that would continue to persecute the
dangerous and revolutionary left, while preventing the formation of weak coalitions in government.
The General
Election
(April 1924)
The Acerbo law was a “set up” to the elections of April 1924, as Mussolini hoped that the Fascists would receive
the majority of votes, and thus be granted ⅔ of the Chamber of Deputies.
The Fascists increased their parliamentary representation to 374, most of it being a result of Mussolini’s public
popularity.
-
He was adored nationwide, with his rallies seeing thousands showing up.
He continuously propagated the Fascist ideology to increase party membership and his support base.
Yet, it was suspected that a significant proportion of the Fascist votes came from ballot-rigging and blackshirt
intimidation.
Opposition was heavily suppressed, especially the Communists and Socialists, who were completely against
Fascism; unlike the liberals & conservatives who were often lenient with Fascist policies.
Despite this, the Communist and Socialists still obtained significant votes→ E.g Milan did not show a Fascist
majority.
Use of legal
methods/ coercion/
Charismatic
leadership
The murder of
Giacomo Mateoti
(June 1924)
On May 30th, Matteotti, a socialist, called for the election results to be declared invalid, as he claimed that the
Fascists had rigged the elections.
On the 10th of June he was stabbed to death.
There were some allegations of Mussolini’s involvement.
The event led to a mass public unrest with people demanding justice for Matteotti.
A few days later, in what became known as the Aventine Secession, 100 opposition MPs walked out of
parliament, as a form of protest, including some of Mussolini’s Liberal supporters, as they refused to collaborate
with a brute like Mussolini.
The MPs also hoped that this would encourage the King to revoke Mussolini from the premiership.
Mussolini ordered the arrests of the Fascist suspects, but also increased the number of Blackshirts in the
streets in order to end the opposition protests.
Use of violence
Destruction of
democracy
(Jul.1925)
In July, protests in the press and on the streets escalated. This led Mussolini to:
-
Enforce press censorship
-
Ban political meetings for opposition parties.
Yet, protests continued, and radical Fascists, the Ras called on Mussolini to take dictatorial action, otherwise
they would refuse to support him, and replace him with another PNF member.
In January 1925, Mussolini made a powerful speech in the Chamber of Deputies declaring that he would
increase his
personal power and take decisive action against the opposition.
This was easily done as he had the support of the King, parliament and blackshirts.
Many historians deem this moment as the start of Mussolini’s dictatorship, whereas others deem the Rule by
Decree of 1926 as the starting point.
Still in January he implemented measures make Italy a Fascist state, and suppress opposition:
-
Ordered a committee to reform the constitution.
-
Banned opposition political parties.
Use of violence and
repression
Rule by decree II
(January 1926)
-
Banned free trade unions.
-
Press censorship was tightened.
-
A secret police was created (OVRA).
-
Special kangaroo courts were set up to try political crimes.
-
Fascist officials replaced Mayors.
Having a majority in parliament, Mussolini once again passed the Rule by Decree, although this time he had the
power to permanently pass laws without consulting parliament.
This effectively gave him dictatorial power:
-
By November 1926, opposition political parties were dissolved.
-
In 1928 universal suffrage was terminated and the King lost power to appoint the PM.
Use of legal
methods