Daniel Longo
History 11th HL
Ms. McPhilemy
How Fascist was Fascist Italy?
Mussolini defined his reign as “Fascist”, a party which not only has all power over the state, but is also characterized by the fact that only one man has power over the party, and consecutively, of the state. The belief of Fascist supporters is that a state can flourish and stay strong as long as the leadership is strong. Weather or not Mussolini remained faithful to the principle of “Fascism” throughout his power is a much discussed matter which historians have addressed heavily.
To state weather or not Fascist Italy was really Fascist, we are required to take into consideration Mussolini’s policies and ruling methods. During Mussolini’s reign, he realized that he needed the support of the church in order to be a successful ruler; his method of obtaining the catholic’s support was achieved by granting land to the Vatican state, thus showing his support towards the religious group and urging the Vatican to give his support to the rising Dictator. From an Extreme fascist point of view, this move is considered to be wrong, as, if he were to follow the Fascist ideal, the correct response to such issue would have been much simpler: eliminate the church.