After removing the threat of rival political parties Mussolini was successful in removing the opposition from within the fascist party. Mussolini faced pressure from the more radical elements of the party, the ras led by Roberto Farannaci. Farannaci became increasingly prominent in his criticisms against Mussolini's liberal economic policies, therefore to manage opposition Mussolini appointed Farannaci as the secretary of the Fascist party. This was to an extent successful as Farannaci was able to tame the violent ras. Farannaci in 1925 enacted a campaign of sqaudrisiti violence against all leaders of the PNF who were not loyal to Mussolini in 1925. However Farannaci also proved to be a growing threat to Mussolini, he came more intemperate in his speeches attacking both the Monarchy and the Church, but Mussolini successfully overcame this challenge by banishing Farannaci to the town of Cremona. The PNF had been purged of any potential rivals, and the fall of Farannaci marked an end to the power and illegal activities of the sqaudrisiti. Mussolini had successfully regained control of his fascist party.
Furthermore, having removed any potential threats from his position as the head of central government, Mussolini effectively regained control of the towns and villages in the local government. In local governments the elected mayors were replaced with state-appointed officials, the Podesta, silencing another potentially independent voice. Mussolini maintained control over local estates through the use of terror, creating the Organizzazione per la Vigilanza e la Repressione dell’Antifascismo (OVRA) in 1927 to remove any political opposition, which was highly effective performing over an estimated 20,000 visits, searches and arrests a week. Mussolini further limited the spread of rival political ideas through controlling the media, the most prominent attack, was in April 1919 when the fascists attacked the headquarters of the Avanti! Killing four journalists. The fascists banned all media outlets, except the Il Popolo d'Italia, to prevent the dissemination of rival political beliefs. To a large extent Mussolini's control over local governments and villages was complete, in the government there was now no credible threat to Mussolini's power.
However Mussolini still faced opposition from traditional intuitions such as the Church. Although Mussolini could not eliminate the power of the Church, he was successful in gaining their support. In April to June 1923 Mussolini worked to gain greater support from the Church, renouncing atheism, making religious education compulsory, and banning contraception. As a result of these efforts Pope Pius XI assisted Mussolini through withdrawing the Church's support for the Popolari and forcing the Popolari minister, a priest, Don Luigui Sturzo to resign. Furthermore Mussolini removed any potential threats the Church raised through the Lateran Pact. The Lateran Pact, signed in February 1929 addressed the Roman question and restored relations between the Italian state and the Catholic Church. This ensured that the Church was not a potential threat to Mussolini and their support helped to secure wider acceptance of Mussolini's rule.
The King was the last potential threat to Mussolini's regime, but Mussolini was also successful in gaining the Kings support for the majority of his regime. Italy was a constitutional monarchy and as a result King Victor Emmanuel III had the power to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister, and had the allegiance of the army. The king however was not a threat to Mussolini, and maintained his loyalty towards Mussolini because of the fear of being replaced by the fascist supporting Duke of Aosta, the weaknesses of the former liberal regime, and the political pressure of elite conservative parties. The Aventine Secession and the Kings support of Mussolini further demonstrated that the king was not a threat to Mussolini. Furthermore Mussolini did successfully manage to limit the Kings powers. In 1928 Mussolini passed a decree which forced the King to select deputies from a list created by the Fascist Grand Council, and reformed Italy's constitution to a diarchy system in which the prime minister and the King were two equal head of states. Mussolini had not eliminated this threat to his regime but for the majority of his time in power he had effectively managed this opposition, and was in that respect successful.
In conclusion Mussolini to a large extent was successful in managing the limited opposition he faced from the parliament and within the fascist party. Despite this Mussolini did not not achieve full dictatorial powers, the kings authority presided over him and it was because of the King that Mussolini was stripped of power on the 25th of July 1943. However Mussolini had secured his hold on power from 1922 to 1943, for these years there was no credible threat to Mussolini's regime demonstrating that to a large extent Mussolini had been successful in removing opposition.
by
munirs220isgedusa (student)
