Another reason which led to the collapse of the Liberal Government was their slow response to the invasion of Fiume by Gabriele D’Annunzio. He became a national hero when he took over the city in September 1919 along with 2000 soldiers, and this was because he acted quickly, and achieved what others had tried and failed to do through diplomatic approaches. D’Annunzio occupied Fiume for a year during which he declared it to be an independent republic, and the Government’s slow response to his action portrayed them as weak. They let him occupy Fiume and defy the authorities for an entire year, which presented them as powerless and indecisive, as they could not do anything to stop him. In addition, this took place on an international stage, as the United States and Britain were important in the idea of self-determination and Yugoslavia receiving Fiume. Thus, the Italian Government were shown up in front of the world as being slow to act in the face of national trouble. However, if they had been quick to act and had stopped D’Annunzio from occupying Fiume, none of the resulting trouble would have occurred. Therefore, the Liberal Government were to blame for their own collapse; if they had acted strongly and used the military to stop D’Annunzio, they would have improved their global reputation as well as stopping any trouble.
The large threat of a socialist revolution was another contributing factor to the collapse of the Liberal Government. Left-wing parties, such as the PSI, had been growing significantly in the years up to 1922, so much that in the 1921 elections, they had 32.4% of the votes in the country. Their size and support was seen during the ‘Red Years’ in 1920-21, when a wage dispute rapidly escalated into 400,000 workers occupying in factories in northern Italy. The Government should have acted at this time to extinguish the socialist threat, and end the fear of a revolution. However, as they did not, this portrayed them as weak to the Italian people who then lost faith in their Government. Despite the eventual collapse of the revolution, the occupation caused people to view the left-wing as a major threat to their way of life. They began to doubt the Government’s ability to deal with the growing number of socialists, so set up their own anti-socialist groups. These included groups such as the fascists, who were vital in bringing about the collapse of the Liberal state. As a result, we can say that the Liberals were at fault for the collapse of their Government; if they had quickly and efficiently stopped the growing number of socialists from causing trouble, then people would have been pleased with the Government’s reaction. They then would not have caused rival groups, and the Liberals would have remained in power.
The final reason which contributed to the collapse of the Liberal Government was the rise of fascism through the leadership of Benito Mussolini. He eventually came to power in late 1922, and went onto to become the dictator of Italy; however, if he had been stopped by the Liberal Government, this would not have happened, and they may have remained in power. One way that they could have done this was to stop the violence from the fascist combat groups. Attacks by the Fasci di Combattimento in mid-1921 left 105 people dead, and 431 injured; if the Government had taken a strong stance and used the military to control the violet groups, the fascists would never have been able to get into power. Also, the Government should have been more aware and decisive; the Liberals should have realised tat Mussolini would leave the National Bock after getting a parliamentary seat, and so they should not have tried to form a coalition with him. Furthermore, the fascists acted in the way they did because they realised that the Government was not going to respond; they saw that the Government had little authority after they ejected the local authorities in Fiume and no action was taken against them. However, if a stronger response was shown from the Government, the fascists would have been stopped, and not have gone on to seize power. Therefore, the collapse of the Liberal Government was down to their failure to act quickly; if they had been more decisive, they could have stopped the fascist violence earlier on, whilst also realising that Mussolini was only acting to get into the Italian parliament. This would cause them to remain in control of the country, and they would not have collapsed.
In conclusion, the statement that the Liberals only had themselves to blame for their own collapse is true to a large extent. If they had responded differently to national problems by being strong and decisive, the people would have been more likely to accept them and not cause trouble. However, there were also a large number of contributing factors which caused the collapse of the Liberal Government; World War One, the occupation of Fiume and the rise of socialism and fascism both contributed to the Liberal’s downfall. Therefore, the collapse of the Liberal Government was their own fault, as they could have remained in power if they had responded to national issues in a more decisive manner.
by
Bilal
