Why did Mussolini establish a dictatorship in 1925?

The pressure Mussolini faced was escalated after the Matteotti crisis. The crisis began as Giacomo Matteotti berated the fascists and rendered the 1924 elections to be corrupt. He was then murder by a gang of fascists. Many of the public and the politicians suspected Mussolini to be directly responsible. The cabinet was pressuring him to resign or to give up the perpetrators and so he got Dumini and Rossi arrested. This agitated the RAS who saw this move as betrayal. Rumours of a coup propped up with the Ras looking to others as leaders. Mussolini had to show the Ras and the people that he was still a strong leader and in control which is why he established a dictatorship. However, the pressure on Mussolini dramatically increased when the Rossi memorandum was published in the newspapers. It was written by Rossi who Mussolini arrested over the death of Matteotti and so he was very angry and seeking vengeance. Rossi stated that Mussolini was behind all the crimes and violence which were happening in Italy including the death of Matteotti. The memorandum was followed by a revolt of the consuls who were the important RAS. They told Mussolini to put a stop to the violence or they would do it themselves and thus he would be ostracized by the rest of his party. Also, he was pressured to establish a dictatorship. The Rossi Memorandum created a huge amount of pressure on Mussolini who had to deal with the accusations. It destroyed his chances of staying prime minister and if he wanted to stay in power he would have to give in to the extremists. The ‘revolt of the consuls’ was significant as Mussolini needed the RAS and unless he would do something, they were prepared to leave him. This inaugurated him to a dictatorship as he had no other choice. His only other option was to resign from power which he obviously wouldn’t do and so in the January 1925 speech, Mussolini admitted to being responsible for the violence and established a dictatorship.  

In conclusion, Mussolini was forced to establish a dictatorship due to the powerful influence of the RAS who put immense pressure on him. Also, his own position was unstable as after the Matteotti crisis and Rossi memorandum he was facing pressure in all direction and was pushed into a corner when the ‘revolt of the counsels’ took place. The only way he could appease the pressure and stay in power was to ‘go on top of it’ and establish a dictatorship.