Was control or Propaganda more important to consolidating Mussolini's Reign
Was control or Propaganda more important to consolidating Mussolini's Reign?
To discover if either control or propaganda were more or equally important, there are many different areas to look at. Both control and propaganda were used in these areas, but with different effects and policies, while one may have been more necessary than the other. Each area is different and the different mediums that exist within them, such as radio or newspapers, were dealt with individually. Mussolini also had to strike a balance between the two, so his reputation amongst the people was kept intact.
Politically, Mussolini made sure he established full control over Parliament and eventually, the country. He was not in favour of continuing the coalition governments which had dominated Italy for many years. He saw them to be weak and wanted to be the ruler of a one party state. From 1922 to 1929, he gradually destroyed all possible alternates to the Fascist regime.
From, 1922 to 1923, Mussolini steadily built up his own power in the government. He placed loyal Fascists in key government positions, created the Voluntary Fascist Militia for National Security, and promoted the Grand Council of Fascism, the highest authority of the Fascist Party, into an organ of state.
In July 1923, Mussolini was able to secure a new electoral law from the parliament. The new law provided that any party, having 25% of the votes in a general election, should receive two-thirds of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Mussolini immediately arranged for elections to the Chamber of Deputies in April 1924. In an atmosphere of intimidation and violence, with the Fascist Militia using strong-arm methods, the National List presented by the Fascists obtained 63% of the vote. In June 1924 when the new Parliament gathered, the Socialist leader, Giacomo Matteotti, denounced the Fascists of the use of force in the recent elections. He was immediately murdered by Fascist assassins.
Matteotti's murder created uproar in Italy. The public turned against Mussolini and the parties in opposition of the Fascists withdrew from Parliament, which was known as the Aventine Secession. However the Aventine Secession only proved to strengthen Mussolini's determination to eliminate other opposition parties.
In 1926, a law on association outlawed all political opposition, and a secret police force was established to arrest political opponents. In 1925-26, more than ten thousand anti-fascists were arrested, sentenced to death and exiled. To strengthen his control of the country, the workers' unions were dissolved and opposition newspapers were closed. In 1928, a new law abolished universal suffrage and restricted parliamentary elections to candidates officially nominated by the Fascist Grand Council. In the 1929 elections, an al1-Pascist Parliament was elected. In the same year, Mussolini, was given power by the pro-Fascist parliament to govern by decrees. ...
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In 1926, a law on association outlawed all political opposition, and a secret police force was established to arrest political opponents. In 1925-26, more than ten thousand anti-fascists were arrested, sentenced to death and exiled. To strengthen his control of the country, the workers' unions were dissolved and opposition newspapers were closed. In 1928, a new law abolished universal suffrage and restricted parliamentary elections to candidates officially nominated by the Fascist Grand Council. In the 1929 elections, an al1-Pascist Parliament was elected. In the same year, Mussolini, was given power by the pro-Fascist parliament to govern by decrees. He issued a series of decrees which transferred to him complete legislative authority. The King had to accept Mussolini as the permanent Prime Minister of Italy. From this time onwards, all other ministers were appointed, dismissed by and directed to work under Mussolini alone.
The economy of Italy was of high importance to Mussolini. When he came to power, though, he had no particular policy or ideology to implement, unlike in Russia where their aim was to rid the country of capitalism. He pursues policies of lowering inflation and limiting government intervention. He also tried to balance budget deficits and reduce public expenditure.
During the earlier years of Mussolini's regime, the economy showed improvement had been made. This is not entirely due to Fascist policy and input however. There is a general European recovery and the ending of the threat of Socialism meant that Italy's economic elite had improved confidence in the economy. Trade union power was also weakened, which once again benefited the economic elite. Mussolini also had to face some major economy problems which were persistent. There was a major north and south divide, with the north being far richer and industrialised, and the south being dominated by agriculture. Overall Italy's economy was an agricultural one, which meant they were totally reliant upon the land.
The economic reorganisation continued as the Italian people were mobilised in several 'battles. The main ones being the battle for the Lira, grain and the marshes. The battle for the Lira meant fixing the price of 90 Lira to every pound. It aimed to reduce inflation which was a burden on the middle class, to confirm the image of Fascism bringing stability and show the Lira held power in the world economy and show the power of Italy. This control over the economy led to several problems. Exports were too expensive for other countries, smaller firm went out of business, it caused serious deflation and in 1936, the Lira had to be devalued.
The battles for grain and the marshes were more successful. The Fascist aim of being self-sufficient in grain was achieved, but fertiliser self-sufficiency was not. Also, other forms of farming suffered and the price of bread rose. The battle of the marshes was the most successful. This created jobs by draining the Pontine marshes around Rome and ridding them of disease. Only 80,000 hectares of land were reclaimed by 1938, which was 1/20th of the propaganda claim. It did however create jobs and improve public health. Economically, Mussolini relied of propaganda to retain a positive image. In truth, his battles for Lira and grain were not successes and the propaganda which followed kept public faith in his policies. Also in the successful 'Battle for the Marshes', propaganda was used to fabricate the claims made about land repossession. In truth much less was reclaimed than was stated and plans made for the land were never realised.
Social unrest was not possible under Mussolini's regime. In social policy, the workers' unions were replaced by the Corporations, directly controlled by the replaced by National Council of Corporations. The workers could therefore not organise any political movements against the government. The population as a whole was subject to control by the government through various channels; the secret police (OVRA & MVSN) were given wide powers. Even the bandits which had been rife in the south for decades were suppressed. Through education, school children were indoctrinated with Fascist ideas. They were told that "Mussolini is always right. Millions of them were recruited into the youth organizations of the party. In 1931, university professors were forced to swear an oath of loyalty to fascism and to teach according to its principles. The mass media was also targeted. The cinema, the radio, the press, the books and the magazines were all strictly censored by the government.
Encouraging events were unfolding at home though. The national football team had won consecutive World Cups in 1934 and 1938 while Canera was World Heavyweight boxing champion(1935-1938). These successes proved vital for Mussolini to promote national pride and greater patriotism. They were also perfect for propaganda purposes as they were shown to impress the outside world and prove Italy was a great nation.
In the social area of Italy, propaganda and control proved to be equally important. Control being used to keep public unrest to a minimum and propaganda to ensure the youth of Italy were believers in the ideas of Fascism.
Mussolini wanted to secure the support of the Catholics for his regime because most of the Italians were Catholics. Mussolini understood that if he wanted to win over the support of the Catholics, he had to heal the dispute between the Papacy and the Kingdom of Italy. After long and difficult negotiations between Mussolini and the Pope, the Lateran Agreements of February 1929 were made. They consisted of a Treaty, a Concordat, and a Financial settlement.
By the Treaty, the state recognized papal sovereignty over the Vatican City, with full diplomatic rights. The state also recognized Catholicism as the national religion. In return, the Papacy declared that it recognized the Kingdom of Italy as the legitimate regime of Italy and surrendered its claim to the greater part of Rome By the Concordat, the Papacy sought to regulate its relations with the state, such as the appointment of Bishops, marriage laws and education. Finally, by the Financial settlement, the Pope was compensated with ninety million dollars for the loss of Papal territories since 1870.
During his rule Mussolini pursued a vigorous foreign policy. The army nearly doubled in size-from 175,000 men to 275,000 men. There were several reasons for this vigorous foreign policy: Mussolini wanted to establish in the Mediterranean a modern Roman Empire, rivalling that of the ancient Caesars. A successful foreign policy might distract the Italians from their conditions at home.
Like most of his countrymen, Mussolini was disappointed with the small territorial gains following the First World War and the treatment at the Paris Peace Conference. Mussolini wanted more territories to settle the surplus Italian population and to acquire raw materials for industry. Mussolini pursued his aggressive foreign policy rather cautiously up to the end of the 1920's because he did not want to arouse great opposition from the big powers, France and Britain. Mussolini first invaded Abyssinia in 1935. This was followed by the formation of Rome-Berlin Axis in November 1936. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) Mussolini also gave almost unlimited support to Franco. The military gains were used for propaganda purposes. These served to show Italy as a major power again and that more victories and power were to come. For foreign policy therefore, it appears that propaganda was more important.
Overall, propaganda and control were equally important. Control made sure that Mussolini came to power and stayed there in the early years of his rule, while propaganda meant Fascist policy and the status of the country were always shown to be positive. Both served different purposes in different aspects of Mussolini's reign and both were used equally to consolidate his power in certain areas such as the economy, propaganda proved to be of more importance in order to keep the public on the side of the Fascists and in order to portray the picture they wanted the people to see. Elsewhere, control in the area of politics meant he became the dictator of Italy and also kept the powerful church out of running the country. In effect, both served the same purpose, in keeping Mussolini popular with the people, but both were undertaken in separate ways.
