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italy old > Consolidation of power > Flashcards

Consolidation of power Flashcards

1
Q

How old was Mussolini when he became Prime Minister of Italy?

A

39

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2
Q

What did Mussolini’s coalition comprise of?

A

4 x Fascists (Mussolini as PM/Interior Minister/Foreign Minister plus 3 others)

4 x Liberals

2 x PPI members (‘Popolari’ - Catholic Party)

1 x Nationalist

3 x key independents (General Diaz, Admiral di Revel and Giovanni Gentile*)

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3
Q

For how long did Mussolini have emergency powers for?

A

1 year

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4
Q

Why were key Conservatives and Liberals willing to support Mussolini?

A
  • He was seen as the only man who could stop socialism
  • They believed he could inject energy into Italian politics
  • Many wanted a new start after years of transformismo and failed governments
  • Many believed that Mussolini could be easily influenced
  • Mussolini led a coalition government and he assured other groups that he had no desire to end parliament
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5
Q

Who opposed Mussolini’s emergency powers?

A

The Socialists and Communists

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6
Q

What was the result of the voting for the emergency powers?

A

196 to 16

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7
Q

What was the Grand Council of Fascism?

A

The supreme body of the fascist movement

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8
Q

How did Mussolini use the Grand Council?

A

He used it to reassure fascists that they were still important to the fascist movement. However Mussolini was able control the leading fascists by giving himself complete control over the council.

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9
Q

What did the blackshirts become and when?

A

In January 1923, the blackshirts were given legal status and were renamed as the MVSN.

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10
Q

How many men were in the MVSN?

A

300,000 men which gave Mussolini a private army

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11
Q

Who ran the local units of the MVSN?

A

Ex-army officers were appointed

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12
Q

How many ras were expelled?

A

200

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13
Q

What was Mussolini’s Cheka?

A

A personal bodyguard of fascist thugs. They were used to terrorise Mussolini’s opponents

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14
Q

Who led the Cheka?

A

Ameriqo Dumini

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15
Q

How did Mussolini win the support of the Industrialists?

A
  • he convinced them that he did not evade tax

- he persuaded the Confindustria to support him in 1923

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16
Q

What was the Confindustria?

A

A powerful industrial organisation which represented big businesses

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17
Q

How did Mussolini win the support of the Roman Catholic Church?

A
  • Mussolini buried his atheist past and proclaimed to be a devout Catholic
  • He baptised his own children
  • He attacked freemasonry
  • Increased clerical sales
  • Banned contraception
  • Introduced religious education in schools
  • banned anti-clerical publications
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18
Q

What did Pope Pius XI do to the PPI?

A

He withdrew support for the PPI and told Sturzo to resign in July 1923 and then told him to leave Italy in October 1923.

The PPI was dropped from the coalition and had lost the backing of most Catholics.

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19
Q

How much did the PNF membership grow?

A

October 1923 = 300,000

December 1923 = 800,000

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20
Q

What did the Nationalists do?

A

In February 1923, the Nationalists closed down and joined the PNF

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21
Q

What were the ‘blueshirts’?

A

The Nationalist’s paramilitary organisation

22
Q

What was the Acerbo Law?

A

The party with the most votes (as long as it got more than 25% of the vote) would automatically receive 2/3 of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

The other 1/3 would be proportionally given out to the rest of the parties.

23
Q

Why did Mussolini introduce the Acerbo Law?

A

It guaranteed Mussolini a majority in parliament which meant that he could pass laws and orders easily without any opposition.

24
Q

What was the vote on the Acerbo Law?

A

235 to 139

25
Q

How did Mussolini ensure that deputies voted FOR the Acerbo Law?

A

He stationed armed blackshirts who would roam about the chamber and intimidated deputies.

26
Q

Who abstained from the Acerbo Law vote?

A

The PPI

27
Q

Who opposed the Acerbo Law vote?

A

Socialists and Communists

28
Q

What was the Fascist result in the April 1924 election?

A

66% of the vote which meant that they got 2/3 of the Chamber of Deputies

29
Q

How many fascist deputies were there after the April 1924 election?

A

Fascist deputies increased from 35 to 374

30
Q

How many of the seats were given to other parties?

A

39 PPI
46 Socialist
19 Communist

2.5 million votes

31
Q

Where were the fascists unable to produce a majority?

A

In Milan and Turin

32
Q

Who was Giacomo Matteotti?

A

He was a Socialist who accused the Fascists of illegally winning the election in April 1924.

He showed evidence of Fascist violence during the campaign.

33
Q

What happened to Matteotti?

A

On 10 June 1924, he was abducted by Fascist thugs and was stabbed to death.

34
Q

What was Mussolini’s reaction to Matteotti’s murder?

A

Mussolini denied all involvement and knowledge of the murder. However the chief suspect of the murder was Mussolini’s press secretary’s PA.

35
Q

What did the opposition do after Matteotti’s death?

A

They walked out of parliament and set up their own parliament.

36
Q

What were the Socialists, Communists and Catholics hoping for?

A

They hoped that the King would dismiss Mussolini.

37
Q

What did Mussolini do after Matteotti’s death?

A

He put more blackhirts on the street to deter the opposition

He tried to distance himself from the crime as much as he could by ordering the arrests of Fascist suspects

38
Q

What was the Kings reaction to Mussolini’s actions?

A

The King refused to dismiss Mussolini and even disregarded a report which directly implicated Mussolini tot he crime.

39
Q

What did Mussolini do to shut down further opposition?

A
  • he introduced press censorship. In July 1924 newspapers could no longer criticise the government
  • he banned political meeting by opposition parties in August 1924
40
Q

What did many Liberals do after press censorship was introduced?

A

They joined the opposition in November 1924

41
Q

What did leading Fascists present to Mussolini?

A

They presented an ultimatum stating that if Mussolini did not solve the Matteotti affair and if he did nit set up a dictatorship, they would withdraw their support for him.

42
Q

What did Mussolini do to stop the Matteotti affair?

A

On January 3 1925, he addressed Parliament and took full responsibility for all Fascist actions including the violence. He then promised the Italian people a strong government with no violence.

43
Q

What happened to Mussolini’s opposition after the speech?

A

They became divided and lacked any sort of leadership.

44
Q

What did Mussolini set up at the end of January 1925?

A

He set up a committee to reform the constitution. By the end of 1925, the legalisation of a dictatorship in the constitution was set up. Mussolini was now backed with authoritarian powers.

45
Q

What were the Leggi Fascistissime?

A

A series of laws which helped Mussolini maintain his authoritarian rule over Italy

46
Q

What laws made up the Leggi Fascistissime?

A
  • All opposition parties were banned
  • Tightened press censorship
  • Setting up of the OVRA secret police force
  • Setting up of a special court for political crimes
47
Q

What did the police use the special courts for?

A

Anti-fascist political opponents to Mussolini were rounded up and put on trial. Many were banished to remote parts of Italy. Banishment was called Confino.

In 17 years, 26 people were executed for anti-fascist crimes.

48
Q

What did the government do to Italian passports?

A

All passports were withdrawn and only given to suitable applicants.

49
Q

What happened to mayors and councils?

A

They were replaced by government appointed officials called podestas.

50
Q

What allowed Mussolini to make his own laws?

A

In January 1926, Mussolini granted himself the right to issue decrees carrying the full force of the law which meant that he could pass laws without going through parliament.

51
Q

What power did the King lose?

A

In 1928, the King lost his right to select the Prime Minister.

52
Q

Who could now appoint the Prime Minister?

A

A list of possible candidates would be drafted up by the Grand Council of Fascism (which was controlled by Mussolini) and the King would have to pick from the list.

italy old (24 decks)

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