• Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Why was Mussolini able to consolidate power between 1922 and 1929?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Why was Mussolini able to consolidate power between 1922 and 1929? Once Mussolini had taken power in 1922 he still had to continue balancing the liberals who had placed him in power and the PNF. His party expected his premiership to mean the start of a complete fascist revolution, while the elites wanted to have the threat of the left removed and have Mussolini's party defused as well as wanting to stay in power. To have this done they were willing to let Mussolini abolish the constitution. Despite the fact that during these years there were some crisis which could have lead to Mussolini's downfall he managed to stay in power by turning problems to his advantage. Once Mussolini took power he was able to get twelve months emergency powers from parliament and his coalition government. He was able to get them to do this by arguing that the country needed a strong, stable government which could take strong measures against the (in reality non-existent) ...read more.

Middle

Mussolini needed to find a way to bypass parliament. The reason he needed to bypass parliament was because he had a tiny minority in parliament even when the fascists joined with the nationalists they still only had 45 out of a possible 535 seats in the senate, which meant that when emergency powers ended he couldn't be sure of passing the legislation he wanted. The way he got past this problem was electoral reform; In July 1923 the Acerbo Law was passed. This meant that the whole country was now one large constituency, where the party winning the most seats (as long as it was more than 25%) would get two thirds of the seats. To the fascists Mussolini said this was the first step to a dictatorship and to the liberals he said it was a way to stabilise government after the previous years of chaos. However the liberals had little choice but to pass it as if they didn't they new Mussolini would abolish parliament. ...read more.

Conclusion

On the 3rd of January that year he gave a speech to parliament. In the speech he accepted "historical responsibility" for "all that had happened", but blamed the left for undermining the state with subversive activity. He challenged the Parliament to have him arrested using Article 47 of the constitution, which allowed ministers to be arrested, however no one all believing the king would remove him from office. The king didn't, as he didn't feel there was any acceptable replacement for Mussolini. He also brought the Liberals round by saying he would return to mass democracy by reintroducing FPTP. By getting his timing just right Mussolini was able to strengthen his position whilst weakening oppositions, between 1925 and 1928 he established his "personal dictatorship". He was able to establish his dictatorship because he had the support of the elite who saw it as a return to elitist politics, and because he strengthened key institutions. Mussolini managed to pass many legislations which increased his power most of which were written by Alfredo Rocco. The first was that he could pass ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Modern European History, 1789-1945 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level Modern European History, 1789-1945 essays

  1. Peer reviewed

    Why did Mussolini come to Power in 1922? How did Mussolini consolidate his position ...

    4 star(s)

    The movement was also able to grow due to the support from the rural and industrial elite. These groups also appreciated the weakness of the liberal government and the threat of socialism and so gave money to support the fascist movement - this further persuaded the group to move more to the right of the political spectrum.

  2. Why was Hitler able to consolidate his position in power by August 1934?

    After the Reichstag fire, the KPD (communist) and the SPD had been banned and the DNP, DVP and DNVP disbanded themselves, as well as the Centre Party. This made it easier for the exclusion of other political parties to become official in July 1933 when Hitler introduced the Law Against the Formation of New Parties.

  1. "Why was Mussolini able to get to power in 1922?"

    However, the war did not bring the desired success. Public moral was further undermined by the fact that, although Italy had been on the winning side, the victory was hollow: it had little to show for its sacrifices in terms of territorial gains or the respect afforded it by the triumphant "Great Powers", USA, Britain and France.

  2. Explain how Mussolini was able both to obtain office and to consolidate his power ...

    One of the main factors that affected Mussolini's rise to power was his widespread public support, and a major aspect of his popularity was the Italian peoples disillusionment at the current parliamentary system. The public perception of the government was that it was designed to prevent decisive leadership through its

  1. Why did Mussolini come to Power in 1922?

    The movement was also able to grow due to the support from the rural and industrial elite. These groups also appreciated the weakness of the liberal government and the threat of socialism and so gave money to support the fascist movement - this further persuaded the group to move more to the right of the political spectrum.

  2. Why was Mussolini able to come to power?

    The strike was a failure in any case, but it enabled Mussolini to pose as the enemy of Communism, and the savior of the country. 6.The March on Rome: by autumn 1922, the fascists felt strong and confident enough to bid for power.

  1. Why was Mussolini able to come to power?

    Politically the regime was weak and irresolute due to a succession of coalitions and inexperience at democratic rule. It failed to satisfy the extreme socialists and extreme nationalists, which though sounding an impossible paradox proved to be a great liability due to lack of support and increase in unrest.

  2. How Successfully did Mussolini Consolidate Fascist Power between 1922 and 1925?

    This angered the more fanatical members of the Ras. They wanted extremism and were disappointed in the way that Mussolini was handling the new-found power. However the Ras were very much divided. There were moderates and radicals within them, both of which lacked a decisive leader who could come close to opposing Mussolini effectively.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work