establishing a dictatorship Flashcards
what was the acerbo law?
-proposed that 2/3 of parliamentary seats went to the party who won more than 25% of the vote
how was the acerbo law passed?
- PCI and PSI opposed it
- Vatican, church and king supported it (want stability)
- fascists stage demonstrations in Tuscany and Umbria and threaten violence
- M wore black shirt in parliament
what happened at the April 1924 election?
- tainted by violence (and the murder of Piccinini)
- prominent liberals on list of fascist candidates
- Mussolini got 66.3% of vote (275 deputies)
what was the Matteoti crisis?
- PCI leader Matteoti gave speech criticizing corruption of election (rumors he had file)
- 10 June: kidnapped
- 16 August: body found just outside Rome
how did the Matteoti crisis effect Mussolini?
- his press secretary, Rossi, owned the car that a witness saw Matteoti dragged in to
- Dumini (head of ceka) led the kidnapping
- press were fiercely critical
what was the aventine secession?
-13 June 1924: 100 antifascit deputies left parliament, establishing their own parliament on Aventine hill
what was the effect of the Aventine Secession?
- destroyed chances of a vote of no confidence
- gave king chance to do nothing
- M ordered PNF to cease violence
- 26 June: senate gave gov a vote of confidence by 255 votes to 21
what happened in November 1924?
- M bows to demands from army
- -> removes PNF members who continue violence and makes MSVN swear oath of loyalty to king
- -> this angered the ras
what happened on December 31st 1924?
-M meed with squads who threaten to remove M as their leader
-Salandra and leaders threaten to leave coaltion
what happened on 3rd January 1924?
-M makes speech to parliament announcing fascist dictatorship, not of the party but a personal rule under himself
what happened on 12th Jan 1925?
-M formed a new cabinet, without most liberals
what happened in February 1925?
-M appoints Farinacci as PNF secretary, giving him the role of purging radicals who do not support M’s political direction
what happened in October 1925?
- FGC approve motion forcing ras to disband sqaudristi (this gains army support)
- Palazo-Vidoni pact (fascist unions take power from socialist and catholic unions)
How do other parties grow weak in 1925?
- Zaniboni is arrested for alleged assassination attempt. Mussolini banned the PSU
- pope withdraws support for PPI and it collapses
How does Mussolini become a dictator 1925-6?
- Dec 1925: becomes Il Duce and head of gov (parliament can not remove him with vote of no confidence)
- Jan 1926: granted ability to rule by decree
what happened on the 31st October 1926?
- alleged assassination attempt allowed Mussolini to ban all political parties except the PNF
- OVRA established
- communist parliamentarians banned and leader Gramsci arrested
how did Mussolini finalize his establishment of a dictatorship?
- elected local gov and mayors replaced with podesta
- PNF secretary Turati stated that prefects would come before ras in any conflict
-By end of 1926 Italy was a one party police state
how did weak opponents help Mussolini consolidate power 1922-26?
- king shows support
- Give M emergency powers 1922-23
- Aventine secession
- liberals go on 1924 electoral list
- Catholics collaborate
- feb 1923: ANI absorbed in to PNF
how did the actions of Mussolini in suppressing the fascists help consolidate power 1922-26?
- Ras want fascist revolution
- FGC 1922: helps M overcome weak position in cabinet
- MSVN squads control violence (absorb squadristi in 1923)
- purges radicals
- 1922-23 party doubled in size
how did threats of violence and promises help Mussolini consolidate power 1922-26?
- November 1922: threatens to dismiss parliament unless he gets emergency powers
- Acerbo law: black shirt in parliament
- 1924 election: intimidation and violence
how did Mussolini’s control of parliament help consolidate power 1922-26?
- made himself foreign minister and minister of the interior
- appointed De’Stefani to reassure conservative industrialists
- emergency powers
- FGC
how could it be claimed that Mussolini’s opponents were not weak 1922-23?
- assassination attempts
- skillful political appointments get liberals on side
- didn’t want civil war/unrest
- not weak, just made mistakes