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) threat of Bolshevik revolution, which many of the senators believed to be a real threat despite the fact that most of the violence was the result of fascists. He also argued that emergency powers were the only way to get the country back on its feat and restore law and order. As well as emergency powers to strengthen his position he strengthened it by setting up the grand council of fascism, which was the highest fascist body where proposals for the government would be debated. By making himself the only one able to appoint people to the fascist council, he was able to make sure that he controlled fascist policy. He also turned the black shirts into a militia, which meant that he had 30,000 men as his own personal army to do with what he wished (which was a reminder to parliament that if he wanted to he could seize power). He strengthened his position by gaining support from industrialists and Catholics; he was able to do this by getting rid of Giolittis proposed crack down on income tax evasion, for the industrialists, and banning contraceptives for Catholics.
