M2- Mussolini gains power (pre-March on Rome) Flashcards
what did Italians think of how Giolitti dealt with Biennio Rosso ?
they were not happy that Giolitti had made a compromise with the socialists by giving into worker’s demands
INSTEAD
Italians saw the violent and aggressive actions of the Fascists as the only way socialism could be stopped
when and what did the PSI split into?
PCI and PSI
in January 1921
what was the PCI?
a more radical party which was communist
was more aligned with the Bolsheviks in Russia
how has the split of the PSI help M?
the PSI was now a weakened party and the general left-wing movement had also been weakened
the PCI was used by M to show the Italian people the threat of a communist revolution
M used the more radical element of socialism to show the Italian people that intervention was needed…
when did the PSI and PCI call for a general strike?
July 1922
what happened during the July 1922 strikes?
nothing
the workers did not support it and the strike failed
how did M use the failure of the July 1922 strikes?
he claimed that the PNF had stopped the strikes
more Italians saw the PNF as the sole force stopping a socialist revolution
why did Giolitti’s transformismo no longer work in 1921?
extremist parties now dominated Italian politics, all of which had no desire to work with the liberals
also, these parties despised each other and had no desire to work together or form a majority
thus it was harder for a coalition to form and so transformismo could not work
what did Giolitti try in the 1921 election?
he tried to absorb Fascism
he offered fascists a place in his national bloc
how did M use Giolitti’s attempts to absorb fascism?
it allowed him and his party to win 35 seats
once voted in he announced that the PNF would vote with the opposition
M had tricked Giolitti into getting him and his fascists into parliament, and then went against him
when did M call an end to squadistri violence?
July 1921
why did M call off squad violence?
he wanted to appease the middle class and industrialists who may dislike the use of violence
by 1921, the communist threat had largely faded
when did M sign the Pact of Pacification?
August 1921
what was the Pact of Pacification?
a pact between the PNF and the PSI/trade unions
M exclaimed that he hoped to bring political and social peace in Italy
what was M’s real reason for the Pact of Pacification?
he wanted the Catholics and liberals would make a deal to stop M from working with the socialists
what problems did M face in 1921?
the ras and squads
what had M tried to do the ras through the Pact of Pacification and the end to squad violence?
force the ras to follow M’s direction for fascism
how has M failed with dealing with the squads and ras?
he underestimated the power of the ras
the most powerful ras bosses condemned M’s pact
many squadistri were angered by M’s deal with the socialists
who were the three most powerful ras bosses?
Italo Balbo
Dino Grandi
Roberto Farinacci
how did M deal with the ras bosses going against him?
he said that if they were not willing to follow his political direction then he would resign as leader
when did M resign?
18 August 1921
what had M’s resignation shown about the PNF?
without his leadership it was a weak organisation which lacked unity and direction
showed how important M was to the PNF
how did M get back into power?
at the PNF conference in November 1921, M was voted back in as fascist leader by fascist delegates
with M’s return to leadership of the PNF what did this mean for the ras and squads?
the squads were under his complete control
the ras were now clearly subordinate to him
what concession was M forced to make to return to power?
drop the Pact of Pacification
he happily did this as he realised that the only way to deal with the socialist threat was through violene
how had the squads become more organised going into 1922?
they were grouped into cohorts and put under the command of a consul who was under the command of a zone commander
how did M use squad violence to take over Italy?
by Spring 1922, fascist squads had begun to expand
blackshirts took many Italian towns with Northern Italy eventually falling to the fascists
what had the liberal govt done to stop the fascist violence and invasion across Italy?
nothing
they had simply allowed it to happen
when had the Fascists reached the outskirts of Rome?
September 1922
how many PNF members in 1922?
320,000
what was M’s dual policy?
he promised to be conservative and pro-monarchy as well as reducing taxes and balancing the budget
he also encouraged squad violence to be maintained as he saw it as the only way to put pressure on the liberal councils in the Italian cities
who was PM in October 1922?
Luigi Facta
how were the Liberals divided when it came to dealing with the fascist threat?
they were more concerned about stopping their liberal counterparts from becoming PM than stopping the fascist revolution
the leaders only cared about whether they could be PM or not, something M had guaranteed to all of them
