Another reason for Mussolinis success was the weakness of the political system. The current political system, let fascism rise, this was made possible by parliaments system to accommodate new parties. The parliament of Italy was only being choosen by the higher classes and therefore the minority which is why Mussolini appealed to the lower classes and why he had such a wide support base. This links in with the 1912 agreement by the Liberals to expand the vote to all men over 30, this expanded the votes from 3 million to 5 million, this also links to the growth of facism as perhaps this expansion meant Mussoilin gained even more support. Within Italy there was a split between the legal ( the parliament and government and higher classes ) Italy, and the real ( the lower and working classes ) Italy. This meant that the minority was choosing who ran Italy, this links in with the point above and therefore has the same outcome of Mussolini gaining support by lower and working class people. The split between legal and real italy was widen by the fact that over four fifths of the population was illiterate.
Thirdly the long term problems of Italy help Mussolini to his success, the large North-South divide was the biggest long term problem. This happened because the North had industrialised quicker than the south, the North was already economically better off and the industrialisation increased the gap between the North and south. This North-South divide links to the demobalisation of the five million troops, this is because in the North they could not gain jobs as the north was industrialised and therefore needed skilled workers not troops, and in the South the poorer classes were exploited by the small amounts of land owners. Another long term was that the Political elite did little to resolve social and economic problems, this point links with the weakness of the political system, that the social and political elite ran the country and cared more about themselves than the people. This was also shown by the huge amounts of bribery that occurred within the parliament and government between politicians.
Another major factor was the role of the King, who eventually appointed Mussolini as Prime Misnister. The Prime Minister before Mussolini, Facta, thought that the out break of violence from the Ras’ ( Mussolinis supporters ) was inevitable and asked the King to sign martial law to stop the march on Rome, however the King declined. Short after this Facta resigned, Salandra ( who was unable to pursuade Mussolini to join his government ) advused the King to appoint Mussolini to stop his rival Giolitti. This lead to the King appointing Mussolini as Prime Minister. This action of the Kings was influenced by the link to Mussolinis tactics, the King was worried about the outbreak of violence as he knew the army woulnt be able to deal with it.
Mussolinis tactics were also a reason for why he got appointed. D’Annzios direct action of taking to city of Fumè, this appealed to the nationalists. This also may have been a role modle for Mussolini to gain support from the Nationalists. This links in with the title point of his growing support and it also links with the nationalists disappointment that Italy didn’t make any gains in the war. Mussolinis other tactic was the dual pressure, which was the threat of violence from the Ras’ but also working within the political system. Squadists – which were facist thugs – attacking socailist leagues in the counryide however Mussolini condones these actions, thus retaining support form the radical elements in the facist movement. But there was a delicate balance of if violence went to far thn the government would become involved. Mussolini had to demonstrate a willingness to work within the consitituional framework. This links to the King being worried about the outbreak of violence by the Ras’, and also the way the Ras’ are in the countryside shows us that Mussolini had a wide support base.
The rising support for Mussolini was a major factor in his appointment as Prime Minister. In 1912 the Liberals agreed to expand the vote to all men over 30 this meant that the masses could now vote. This could have meant that Mussolini gained more supporters from the lower classes. This expanded the electorat from 3 to 5 million so Mussolini could have gained a lot of support. The main bulk of his supporters were ex-soldiers and revolutionaires who wanted recognition for their part in the war. Mussolini also had the Ras’, who were extreme facist thugs who wanted the use of violence or a revolution to gain control.
Overall the growth in support was a key factor for Mussolini as it meant that he could use his dual stratgy to gain power. It also meant that he appealed to all the classes not just the lower class. He also appealed to different political groups, like the nationalists and facists, so he gained supportfrom peole in all the political parties. This meant that he ahd a foothold everywhere to be able to gain dictatorship at a later date.
by
tonto34 (student)
