M2- Mussolini gains power (pre-March on Rome)

Question 1

what did Italians think of how Giolitti dealt with Biennio Rosso ?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

when and what did the PSI split into?

Answer 2

PCI and PSI
in January 1921

Question 3

what was the PCI?

Answer 3

a more radical party which was communist
was more aligned with the Bolsheviks in Russia

Question 4

how has the split of the PSI help M?

Answer 4

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…

Question 5

when did the PSI and PCI call for a general strike?

Answer 5

July 1922

Question 6

what happened during the July 1922 strikes?

Answer 6

nothing
the workers did not support it and the strike failed

Question 7

how did M use the failure of the July 1922 strikes?

Answer 7

he claimed that the PNF had stopped the strikes

more Italians saw the PNF as the sole force stopping a socialist revolution

Question 8

why did Giolitti’s transformismo no longer work in 1921?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

what did Giolitti try in the 1921 election?

Answer 9

he tried to absorb Fascism
he offered fascists a place in his national bloc

Question 10

how did M use Giolitti’s attempts to absorb fascism?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

when did M call an end to squadistri violence?

Answer 11

July 1921

Question 12

why did M call off squad violence?

Answer 12

he wanted to appease the middle class and industrialists who may dislike the use of violence

by 1921, the communist threat had largely faded

Question 13

when did M sign the Pact of Pacification?

Answer 13

August 1921

Question 14

what was the Pact of Pacification?

Answer 14

a pact between the PNF and the PSI/trade unions

M exclaimed that he hoped to bring political and social peace in Italy

Question 15

what was M’s real reason for the Pact of Pacification?

Answer 15

he wanted the Catholics and liberals would make a deal to stop M from working with the socialists

Question 16

what problems did M face in 1921?

Answer 16

the ras and squads

Question 17

what had M tried to do the ras through the Pact of Pacification and the end to squad violence?

Answer 17

force the ras to follow M’s direction for fascism

Question 18

how has M failed with dealing with the squads and ras?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

who were the three most powerful ras bosses?

Answer 19

Italo Balbo
Dino Grandi
Roberto Farinacci

Question 20

how did M deal with the ras bosses going against him?

Answer 20

he said that if they were not willing to follow his political direction then he would resign as leader

Question 21

when did M resign?

Answer 21

18 August 1921

Question 22

what had M’s resignation shown about the PNF?

Answer 22

without his leadership it was a weak organisation which lacked unity and direction

showed how important M was to the PNF

Question 23

how did M get back into power?

Answer 23

at the PNF conference in November 1921, M was voted back in as fascist leader by fascist delegates

Question 24

with M’s return to leadership of the PNF what did this mean for the ras and squads?

Answer 24

the squads were under his complete control
the ras were now clearly subordinate to him

Question 25

what concession was M forced to make to return to power?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

how had the squads become more organised going into 1922?

Answer 26

they were grouped into cohorts and put under the command of a consul who was under the command of a zone commander

Question 27

how did M use squad violence to take over Italy?

Answer 27

by Spring 1922, fascist squads had begun to expand

blackshirts took many Italian towns with Northern Italy eventually falling to the fascists

Question 28

what had the liberal govt done to stop the fascist violence and invasion across Italy?

Answer 28

nothing
they had simply allowed it to happen

Question 29

when had the Fascists reached the outskirts of Rome?

Answer 29

September 1922

Question 30

how many PNF members in 1922?

Answer 30

320,000

Question 31

what was M’s dual policy?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

who was PM in October 1922?

Answer 32

Luigi Facta

Question 33

how were the Liberals divided when it came to dealing with the fascist threat?

Answer 33

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