European states (Italy): To what extent do you agree that the main way that Mussolini consolidated his control was by intimidating his opponents? Flashcards
Intro/thesis
-Legal methods set the precedent for the removal of opposition (e.g. Acerbo Law) and solidified the support of key groups (e.g. Lateran Pacts)
Paragraphs
-Intimidating opponents
-Legal methods
-Support of key groups
Intimidating opponents- examples
-Although trade unions and all opposition parties had been banned in 1926, there was still some opposition and resistance, such as the Communist Party of Italy.
-In 1926, Gramsci, the leader of the Communist Party, was arrested and imprisoned.
-By 1926, Fascist squads had killed around 2,000 people.
-The murder of Matteoti in 1924 sent a clear warning that the Fascists were prepared to use violence to silence their opponents.
Intimidating opponents- explanation & historiography
-This was a somewhat significant aspect of Mussolini’s consolidation of power, as if there had been stronger opposition, his power might have been more fragile.
-However, this opposition was limited from the start of his regime. Nevertheless, important incidents like the Matteotti crisis proved a significant warning to potential dissidents. This view is supported by Denis Mack Smith, who argues that violence was a key aspect of Mussolini’s consolidation of power, citing the murder of Matteotti as an example of this.
-In contrast, other historians emphasize the failure of the King, Army, or Pope to oppose or act against the Fascist regime, and the failure to unite. Although this suggests that there was not much opposition to intimidate in the first place, it could also be indicative of the preventative power of Mussolini’s intimidation.
Intimidating opponents- counterargument
-Intimidation of opponents was not wholly significant because there was not much opposition to Mussolini in the first place. During the late 1920s and 1930s, opposition mainly involved isolated individuals.
-There was a lack of cohesion and division within the opponents fo the regime. The Communists, for example, refused to work with any other group.
Legal methods- examples
-In November 1922, parliament gave Mussolini the power to rule by decree for one year.
-Having gained extraordinary powers in parliament, Mussolini moved to consolidate his control over the Fascist Party by establishing the Grand Council of Fascism.
-In 1923, he managed to get the Acerbo Law passed. This gave him 2/3 of the deputies in the parliament.
-In 1929, Mussolini completed the process of consolidating his control when he signed the Lateran Pacts with the papacy, designed to neutralize the power of the Church in Italy.
Legal methods- explanation
-Mussolini made all appointments to the Grand Council, and this meant he had direct control over Fascist Policy.
-Mussolini claimed that the Acerbo Law was necessary for the decisive rule that was needed to redress the problems Italy faced. However, what Mussolini did not make explicit in his speeches was that the Acerbo Law would make the fascists the majority party and then they could intimidate voters and attack opposition newspapers.
-These agreements (the Lateran Pacts) guaranteed a separate sphere for the Catholic Church and its youth movement, Catholic Action. Mussolini had now created his dictatorship.
Support of key groups- examples
-Mussolini increased support from the conservative industrialists and their organization through tax reform, by abolishing the prince/rent controls as well as regulation of corporate finance, and by allowing industrialists to create their own syndicates separate from the workers.
-In early 1923, the small Nationalist Party merged with the Fascist Party and the conservative industrialists pledged their support for Mussolini.
-Mussolini announced measures to make religious education compulsory, banned contraception, and renounced atheism. Pope Pius XI, already a fascist sympathizer, signaled his willingness to withdraw his support for the Populari.
-The 1929 Concordat made the Roman Catholic Church the state religion.
Support of key groups- explanation & historiography
-Although this merger meant that Mussolini had to share some power, it brought the fascists additional paramilitary forces (the Nationalists’ Blueshirts).
-Link to legal methods- the Lateran Pacts
-The Concordat further removed the religious opposition to Mussolini. However, there is historical debate about whether the Church was a powerful obstacle to Mussolini’s rule in the first place. Richard Bosworth believes it was not a powerful obstacle. Nevertheless, the widespread support for the Church at the time meant that support from the Pope allowed him to widen the fascists’ political base and to weaken the poppularity of the Populari, another keuy member of the coalition.
More info on the murder of Matteotti
-The muder of Matteotti, a Socialist politician, on the 10th of June, 1924, curtailed Mussolini’s power for a time, as it was suspected that this had been carried out by Dumini’s Fascist thugs. Many began to distance themselves from his regime.
-To win back support, Mussolini ordered the arrest of Dumini and his gang on the 15th of June, but Mussolini was still suspected to have bin involved.
-In what became known as the Aventine Secession, many socialists, communists, and radical Populari boycotted parliament in protest, intending to force the king to dismiss Mussolini. However, the King refused to consider such an action and instead blamed the opposition (mostly republicans).
