The question regarding why fascists came to power in Italy during 1922 is a complex one. There are many contributing

WHY DID THE FASCISTS COME TO POWER IN 1922?

The question regarding why fascists came to power in Italy during 1922 is a complex one. There are many contributing factors to consider before a clear answer can be provided, but is it submitted that the role of the Italian King is the most significant. It can be argued that to provide an accurate response to this question, one must generate two answers. The first answer must clarify which single event resulted in the fascists achieving power and the second answer must discuss the actions which contributed towards the rise of fascism. The following essay shall generate these answers and additionally argue the relative importance of the role of the King, the failure of liberal parliamentary government to deal with the problems and disillusion of post-war Italy, the appeal of fascism to wide sections of the Italian people, Mussolini’s opportunism and flexibility, and the fear of revolution coupled with the apparent security offered by fascism.

As mentioned, it can be submitted that the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, was the final barrier the fascists had to confront in their rise to power and subsequently the most significant factor in how the fascists came to power in 1922. It was his failure to declare martial law in the face of Mussolini’s March on Rome in which Mussolini stated he would seize government that led to a succession of events which resulted in Mussolini achieving the title of prime minister and the fascists controlling government. It is noted that the King had stated that the army would be unable to stop Mussolini’s camice nere, black shirts, and so he had decided to try and compromise with Mussolini. However, this claim was challenged by military leaders at that time and furthermore in later years by surviving military records. These claims demonstrate that if the regular army had stood up to this threat, Mussolini and his black shirts would have been defeated, given that they were essentially outnumbered and ill-equipped. Subsequently the Mussolini and the fascism era of Italian history would not have taken place. This appears to be the answer as to why the fascists came to power. The discussion, however, can not end there. Previous events must be considered, as it was these events which allowed the fascists to be in a strong enough position to be successful in using the threat of violence.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The failures of the liberal parliamentary government are arguably factors of considerable importance as to how the fascists came to be such a position of popularity. It is essential to declare that the opponents of Mussolini do not include the King as he did not resist Mussolini. The liberal parliamentary government faced struggles following World War I which included economic decline and the nation’s discontent with the peace treaty. With Italy suffering from economic decline, mass unemployment and a considerable decrease in Italian tourism and export trade, the country was left poor and in debt with its people searching for a way out. They blamed the government’s weak foreign policy for the loss of the land they incurred from the differences between the land they were led to believe they would receive as part of the treaty of London and the lesser amount of land they actually gained through the Treaty of Paris. The distrust the people had for the liberal government was exaggerated by the countless arguments within government resulting in the fact that during 1917-1922 there had been six liberal coalitions and with each coalition there remained no clear aim for the future. These events suited Mussolini’s efforts in different ways. Firstly, the people of Italy already craved for strong leadership, of which Mussolini promised. Secondly, many disgruntled ex-soldiers, who now faced unemployment as the war had ended, would prove invaluable fighters for fascism. When a country is experiencing difficulties and the figure(s) in charge offer nothing but head scratching, its people search for alternatives. If the government had been more decisive then it can be argued that the people would not have sought after a strong leader such as Mussolini, but with the peoples support Mussolini was place in an excellent position.

The threat of a socialist revolution was a brief one spanning from 1918 to 1920 but during this time one can argue that many of the support structures were set in place for the growth of fascism. During these years there was an upsurge of strikes, street demonstrations, riots and occupations of factories. The increased support for fascism’s popularity came about when it seemed that the liberal government failed to act. The fascist black shirts resorted to violence to end these riots and were seen as saviours of the nation and as a result of which, considerably boosted their position within Italy’s political spectrum.

Following on from the increase of support following the crushing of the perceived socialist threat, a discussion must be made on the appeal of fascism to wide sections of the Italian people. The majority of support for fascism came from the petty bourgeoisie which included shopkeepers, artisans, small merchants, small business owners, low-ranking civil servants, teachers, small landowners etc. These people had many different reason for supporting fascism, ranging from the above mentioned ex-soldiers who now faced unemployment and, in addition, felt that they had not received adequate rewards from the government for their service during war time services, to farmers who were bullied into employing a larger work force than was necessary but in general they supported those who they believed would be able to stop the spread of socialism. Noble persons, such as the large landowners, were prepared to finance any movement which resisted socialism and as the fascist movement did this they were set to gain financial support of the land owners. Coincidentally, with the support of the large land owners, fascism was transformed into a mass movement. Industrialists, who were concerned with liberal government’s special consideration for workers and additionally fearful of socialists, offered their support to fascism. University students offered their support to fascism over concerns regarding the increased wages of unpatriotic workers and also over their own future prospects. A distinction should be made between the people who joined the fascist movement and the people who were prepared to support fascism for self gain. Nevertheless, there was a sizeable amount of followers and one could argue that without this mass support the fascists would not have progressed as far as they did.

It would be negligible at this stage to fail to mention Mussolini’s opportunism and flexibility, as without these skills fascist movement might have concluded before it even commenced. He had a broad appeal with no set procedures or protocols for when he achieved power. It would appear that having Mussolini as a leader would have a beneficial effect for almost everybody in Italy. People were fearful of the socialist revolution but Mussolini used violence to crush this threat. People were discontented with the post-war peace treaty so Mussolini declared he would get the land they were due. The lack of clear procedures or protocols allowed Mussolini to make his biggest change, which was to move his fascist party from left wing government to right wing. All these events suggest that whichever event occurred, Mussolini used it and altered his party’s procedures and protocols to maximise fascism’s popularity.

The point raised here is that the decisions and actions of the Italian King were vital in allowing the fascists to achieve power during 1922. Regardless of any other factor if the King had declared martial war it is believed that the fascist movement would have been defeated. When one is answering such a question it is of course relative to acquire as many facts as possibly regardless of how insignificant they at first appear. Therefore it must be stated that one must define the difference between why the fascists came to power and the events which took place which allowed the fascists to be in a position to use the threat of violence and succeed. In this case to respond to why, one must give the reason of the King. Whereas, to answer how the fascist were able to get into a strong position one must give the reasons of the failure of liberal parliamentary government to deal with the problems and disillusion of post-war Italy, the appeal of fascism to wide sections of the Italian people, Mussolini’s opportunism and flexibility and the fear of revolution – the apparent security offered by fascism.

Bibliography

Hite and Hinton. “Italian Fascism”

Lecturer notes. “The growth of Italian fascism and Mussolini’s rise to power 1918-1922”