How far was the growth in support for Fascism in the years 1919-22 free essay sample

In October 1922, King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Benito Mussolini as the 13th Prime Minister of the Italian state. Between 1919 and 1922, the Fascists had begun to appeal to a larger audience, such as the industrialists, the army and the middle classes, but in 1922 only held 7% of the vote. This means that although support was an important factor in Mussolini’s appointment to power, there were other factors that also had a role in leading to this, such as the weakness of Giolitti’s Liberal government, the role of Socialism and Mussolini’s skill and opportunism. Overall, the growth in support played a very minor role in Mussolini’s appointment to power, and getting the position was mostly due to his ability to manipulate events to his advantage. Mussolini’s appointment as Prime Minister was partially due to the growth in support for Fascism, both through membership and electoral vote. The manifesto appealed to a wide range of people, such as the Industrialists who resented the Socialist trade unions, the Middle classes who had a fear of a Socialist revolution, and the Army and ex-military, who even went as far as providing transportation and weapons for Squadristi; out of hatred for the Socialists who had worked in the factories during the war rather than fighting on the frontline. We will write a custom essay sample on How far was the growth in support for Fascism in the years 1919-22 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All these groups supported the Fascist cause, and it was this backing from the elite, which put the King under an immense amount of pressure that eventually led to him choosing Mussolini as Prime Minister. Many young people also became part of the Fascist movement as they enjoyed the violence and the excitement of it, all which contrasted with their dull everyday lives. The movement grew rapidly, going from 80,476 members to 218,453 in 1921 in just 9 months. However this didn’t make a huge difference in the number of votes they received, as they went from 2% in 1919 to only 7% in 1921, giving them just 35 deputies. Although this was hardly mass support just yet, without any progress in the growth of support during 1919-22, Mussolini would have never made it into Parliament to begin with, so it is very important in giving him a foothold in power but didn’t play the major role in his appointment as Prime Minister. During the years 1919-22, the Liberal government was disliked by many and considered to be very weak. This was for several reasons; one being that it had failed to gain Dalmatia and Fiume from WW1, and as the gaining of these territories was the main agenda of many interventionists, this failure made the Liberal government look almost powerless. Many Nationalists and ex-soldiers then began to support the Fascists as they had seen just how easily D’Annunzio had seized Fiume in protest of the results of the Paris Peace Conference, which the Liberal government didn’t intervene in until it was pressured by Yugoslavia. This new wave of support led to a rise in party membership and vote, which acted as a catalyst for the appointment of Mussolini as Prime Minister in 1922. The weak Liberal government also meant that there was a lack in response to the threat from the Socialists and also the Fascists, which essentially meant that Mussolini could prove his party to be much stronger than the Liberals. This was demonstrated by using squadristi to beat and intimidate striking Socialists, which helped win over the support of the middle class (who were terrified of a Left wing uprising), and to also threaten the government by saying he would unleash the RAS unless he was appointed into power. Giolitti and the Liberals thought they could tame Mussolini and make the Fascists less violent by making a formal agreement with him to stand together as a ‘National Bloc’ in the May 1921 election. However, immediately after the election, Mussolini withdrew the Fascists from the National Bloc as the pact had served it’s purpose in giving him a parliamentary seat, greater authority and a respectable image, all of which were important factors leading up to his appointment as Prime Minister. Mussolini himself played an important role in ensuring he would eventually become Prime Minister, and this was mainly due to his skill and political tactics. He was a very good propagandist, and this was mainly achieved by using situations to his advantage. For example, on 31 July 1922, there was a 24-hour general strike led by the Socialists to protest against Fascist brutality and the Liberal indifference to the squadristi violence. The fascists quickly stopped the strike by replacing workers, and Mussolini used the event as an effective propaganda weapon, claiming that the Fascists had restored order and prevented a left-wing revolution, which appealed to many conservative Italians and elite politicians, who now widely assumed that the PNF would be offered a role in government and thus putting pressure on Giolitti to negotiate with Mussolini, which led to the formation of the National Bloc and consequentially, his appointment as Prime Minister. Throughout the period of 1919-22, Mussolini had a dual policy that involved using both threat and assurance to deal with his political opponents. He played the RAS to his advantage: using them to win support of and scare the middle classes into supporting the PNF by letting them quite publicly assault Socialists, as well as intimidating the political establishment with the prospect of a Fascist coup. Simultaneously, Mussolini was having secret negotiations with key Liberal politicians and convincing them that the PNF would act responsibly and inconspicuously and accept the democratic political system. He also delivered a speech to appeal to the King in 1922, which argued that Fascism could coincide with a monarchy. To secure the support of Emannuel III, his pro-fascist cousin, the Duke of Aosta, moved next to the PNF’s headquarters to send the message that an alternative, compliant ruler could easily replace him if he took action against the Fascists. This delicate balancing act of being both a fierce military leader and a civilised politician was a testimony to Mussolini’s political skill, and was immensely important in confirming his appointment as Prime Minister. In summary, the growth in support for Fascism from the years 1919-22 was only partially responsible for Mussolini’s appointment as Prime Minister, as despite their rapid increase in membership they only gained a 5% increase in the vote from 1919 to 1921. It is important in the respect that without it, the Fascists would have still had no seats in the House of Deputies and Mussolini wouldn’t have been able to become Prime Minister. The weak opposition is indeed, also partially responsible for his appointment due to the lack of interference from the government and the disorganization of the Socialists, but it is firmly clear that Mussolini’s superior skill and actions against his rivals, such as his tactical agreement in entering the National Bloc with Giolitti and his sinister dual policy to repress any backlash against him, was the most important factor in persuading the King to appoint him as Prime Minister.