The failings of Liberal Italy were crucial factors in the rise of Fascism and the rise of Fascism was the rise of Mussolini. Liberal Italy did indeed offer the people a part of what they wanted including, freedom of speech, universal male sufferage, social reform, land and a great victory in war. However they took all of these things away gradually, and upset different classes of people when they gave them in the first place. Italy was a state overloaded with mixed feelings of anger, hatered, confusion, and a small section of the population were content. How could they explain this? They failed to negotiate a satisfactory peace treaty which greatly angered the peasants as they had lost family and friends to the war!! They procrastinated aginst the peoples needs after the war and this faced them with several threats to there position. Dissatisfaction with the territorial settlement made at the Paris peace conference got in the way of the glorious light from the victory of war as the Italians did not gain what they hoped to. Most Italians expected big territorial gains when they entered war. According to the Treaty of London, Italy was promised Trentino, Trieste, Southern Tyrol, Istria, Dalmatia, the coastal districts of Albania, a share in the division of the Ottman Empire and the German colonies in Africa. although the Italiansfought bravely and lost 600,000 men, the territories ceded to Italy in the Paris peace conference were not as many as she had originally been promised. Italy was given Trentino, Trieste, Tyrol and Istria but she did not get any former German colonies nor any land in Asia Minor, Albania or Dalmatia, so understandably there was much resentment against the weak unsucessful foreign policy of the Italian government. Economis distress was another factor leading to the downfall of the Liberal government and the rise of Fascism and Mussolini. Italy was a poor nation. she could only support her war effort by obtaining foreign loans. Immediately after the war, as Europe was exausted by the war, the Italian tourist trade and export trade came to a stand still and there was large-scale unemployment throughout the country. The problem of unemploment was aggravated by the return of millions of ex-soldiers to Italy and a new immigration law of the U.S government which restricted entry of immigrants. Moreover runaway inflation added to the suffereings of the Italians. The Lira had only one-fifth of its pre-war value. Encouraged by the success of the Bolshevik revoltuion in 1917, the unemployed workers and peasants stirred up riots and strikes throughout the country. All these issues only made Liberal Italy and the minuite bit of power it had left grow smaller and smaller, while Fascism grew stronger and the desperate peasants began to reach for anything they could that would boost their spirits, and had the government been stronger the groups such as the Fascists would have ahd no support, no reason and therefore they could not overthrow as easily as they did. And because of their weakness I believe this situation was the least threatening to the Fascists.
Opposing my argument for the least threat is my argument fo the greatest threat to Fascism and Musolini, which is without a doubt was D’Annunzio. Although he did not seem to be the most poplular man in Italy at this time, the socialists were getting the votes. They were immensly popular as they shputed for exactly what the people wanted, whther they could give it or not was never seen, but the people certainly believed they would live up to their promises as the socialists gained the majority of chairs in the 1919 and 1921 elections winning 125 and 108 seats respectively. They were the most popular party in Italy and posed a great threat to the governemtn. The socialists promised higher wages, lower taxes and a generally better and more secure standard of living. Little did the government and the people know that when it came to the crunch, they would sit tight and wait to be placed in power without joining with the second most popular group the (PPI) Catholic Church. And this is when Fascism had its opportunity to rise and make the move the socialists were so rsisitant to make themselves. By 1922 fascism seemed to be taking over!! However when D’Annunzio began to highlight the failures of the provisional government by a series of dramatic events which occurred at the Adriatic port of Fiume. Italy had claimed the city but was not granted it and the weak Liberal government made no efforts to retrive it. So the nationalist poet D’annunzio’s seizure of Fiume is was a potentially confusing inncident, how come he could stand up for Italy but its own government could not?!?
Fiume was a major Adriatic port. Until 1919 it was a part of the austro- hungarian empire. the majority of its inhabitants were Italian, but the suburbs and hinterland were mainly Croat. After the war was won, Italian nationalists clamoured for the port to be a part of Italy, but in 1918 it was occupied by allied troops. the Italian government failed to gain Fiume at the Versailles Settlement. it became an illustration of what D’Annunzio described as a ‘mutilated victory’. In September 1919 D’Annunzio, at the head of 300 ex-soldiers, eized control of the city. The allied troops left, although some Italian troops who supported d’Annunzio remained. The Italian government did nothing, reinforcing the image of both ots weakness, and its willingness to submit to violence. D’Annunzio theatriacally kissed the Italian flag and proclaimed: ‘In this mad, vile world, Fiume is the symbol of Liberty’. However in decmber 1920 Giollitti’s new government decided to reassert its authority, and sent in troops. D’Annunzio and his veterans fled and the Italian army quickly took command. The Fiume inncedent showed that force could be used to try and achieve aims from post war Italy which is exactly what Fascism offered and due to the fact that D’Annunzio used the violence Fascism was now exceeding support for this typ of movement was now balanced between the two.
Now all that was left was the appeal of Fascism!! Its mixed ideologies attracted all the peasants, upper and middle classes and the clergy as they could not go wrong when they offer reforms to give everyone what they are looking for. They could now overthrow the Liberal government because of this “cocktail of ideals”!! Fascism is said to be an indefinable term. it appealed to all aspects of sociaety changing its ways when ever it encountered a problem. It appealed to the king, the petite bourgeiuos, the authorities, futurists, nationalists, the ras, the church, ex-soldiers, hooligans, anarchists, and students. It appealed to the nationalists because it promised wars, which when victorius would bring national pride. The petite bourgouise supported them because they would benefit slighly from their ideals, whereas the ideals of other movements would hinder them. The authorities showed their support for Fascism by coverning up for them whenever they created violence with the socialists as the authorities, espicially the police were very anti-socialism. The Futurists supported them because futrurism was the basis of Fascism. The ras supported Mussolini not Fascism because they saw him as a strong leader. The King asupported bacsue he was weak and indecisive. The church would be pro- fascism because it was the best way to stop socialits from telling people that religion is the “optimujm of the masses”. The ex-soldiers simply wanted violence.
Mussolini’s own character describes perfectly how he rose with Fascism. I believe Mussolini is Fascism. His strategies, his ways, his beleifs, his thoughts, his weaknesses, his power, his spoilt personality, his ability to reach every target he ever had and always come out of situations with what he went in intending to get!!
In conclusion and after surveying all the evidence I believe Mussolini came to power not because of his ability to rule but because of Fascisms ability to rule. Fascism being a cocktail can mix everyones needs in to one therefore it can satisfy everyone and those people who are’nt satisfied can just be added in!!
Who would’nt vote for a ruler who can give them what they want? I believe Mussolini was Fascism. I believ ascism can indeed be defined with one simple word! MUSSOLINI. he became leader because Fascism became a leader
