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Fascist Italy > Mussolini and government > Flashcards

Mussolini and government Flashcards

1
Q

What was M determined to ensure?

A

That all real power rested in his hands

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2
Q

What would this mean?

A

That he alone would devise policy and make all major decisions. The King would be an irrelevance, and cabinet, parliament and the institutions of state would be his loyal servants

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3
Q

What had the traditional role of the monarchy in politics been?

A

They distanced themselves from domestic policy and mainly focused on foreign affairs

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4
Q

What did M realise?

A

That he completely overawed Emmanuel III

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5
Q

What did he take advantage of this to do?

A

Deter the monarchy from any political involvement

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6
Q

How did M still follow royal protocol?

A

He visited the King twice a week

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7
Q

Why did this not really matter?

A

He was never asked for advice and was only told what M wanted him to hear

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8
Q

Who was M not prepared to share power with?

A

His ministers

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9
Q

What type of government would there no longer be?

A

There would be no cabinet style government with ministers jointly deciding and discussing government policy

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10
Q

What would the role of ministers be instead?

A

To follow M’s instructions unquestioningly

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11
Q

What positions did M hold for the vast majority of his time as dictator?

A

The most important ministries

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12
Q

What were they?

A

Foreign affairs, interior and the three armed services

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13
Q

What did he have even less regard for?

A

Parliament

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14
Q

What had happened to parliament by 1926?

A

It had lost its ability to discuss policy, debate and amend proposed legislation and criticise the government

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15
Q

What happened to it in the following years?

A

Its reputation and political significance sank further

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16
Q

What did the ban on opposition parties mean for parliament?

A

The chamber was dominated by sycophantic fascist deputies who did not even bother to vote formally on M’s legislation, simply shouting their assent

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17
Q

What ceased to exist?

A

Free elections

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18
Q

Explain what happened to the electoral process?

A

The electorate was reduced to exclude most of the working classes, all candidates had to be approved by the fascists and the results were shamelessly rigged to show 98% approval for the regime

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19
Q

Why were the working classes excluded from the electorate?

A

Because they had previously voted for the socialists

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20
Q

What happened to parliament in Jan 1939?

A

It abolished itself altogether, to be replaced by an equally meaningless chamber of Fasces and Corporations

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21
Q

What other institutions of state became M’s servants?

A

The civil service, local government, the judiciary and the armed services

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22
Q

What is the civil service?

A

They advise government ministers on policy and ensure that government policies are carried out

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23
Q

What was he keen to avoid while bringing these institutions under his control?

A

Provoking a head on clash with these institutions that the radicals in the PNF desired

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24
Q

What kind of desired action would have caused issues?

A

A wholesale sacking of civil servants and members of the judiciary and army officers corps and their replacement with PNF appointees

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25
Q

What was M also anxious to do when bringing these institutions under his control?

A

Restrict the power of the party and keep it under his complete command

26
Q

What did he recognised about most of those in state institutions?

A

That they were conservatives that were largely sympathetic towards him, but distrustful of the party radicals

27
Q

What did he do to capitalise on this conservative sympathy?

A

By using his powers of patronage to reward loyalty and by introducing policies they would support

28
Q

What did he do at the same time as making these concessions?

A

He made clear that if his wishes were not supported or obeyed, he would be ruthless in seeking out and destroying opposition

29
Q

What did M actions mean?

A

That there was no fascist revolution in government

30
Q

What did the PNF complain?

A

That party membership was dangerously low in the institutions of state

31
Q

Give a statistic to back up this idea

A

In 1927, only about 15% of the civil service was fascist

32
Q

Why was this not a problem?

A

Because they still loyally carried out M’s instructions

33
Q

Why did fascist membership among civil servants improve in the 1930s

A

Because of recognition that promotion depended on being a card carrying supporter of the regime

34
Q

Who did he adopt a similar policy in his dealings with?

A

The armed services

35
Q

What common interest did he emphasise that he and the military shared?

A

Expanding the armed forces and pursuing an aggressive foreign policy

36
Q

How did he gain support from the military?

A

By promoting senior generals to the prestigous post of field marshal

37
Q

What did ambitious officers come to realise?

A

That a pro fascist attitude and party membership would enormously enhance their prospects of promotion

38
Q

What did the army resent about fascism?

A

They pretensions of the fascist militia to be a significant military force

39
Q

What was it still willing to do?

A

Give its loyalty to the duce

40
Q

How was his approach to the judiciary more radical?

A

Because he purged what he saw as undesirable elements

41
Q

What were dozens of judges sacked for?

A

Being insufficiently sympathetic towards fascism or for being too independent of the government

42
Q

What did he want to ensure about the judiciary?

A

That it could be relied on to follow government instructions

43
Q

What happened to the Italian legal system as a result of M’s reforms?

A

It lost all claim to impartiality

44
Q

What became common?

A

Imprisonment without trial

45
Q

What happened when cases were taken to court?

A

M occasionally intervened to dictate verdicts and sentences

46
Q

How was local self government destroyed?

A

Elected mayors and town councils were replaced by officials appointed from Rome

47
Q

How did M build up his support and control throughout the country without conflict?

A

Because it was based on self interest

48
Q

How did his tactics in pursuing complete control vary?

A

They varied between aggression and conciliation according to the nature of the institution

49
Q

Where did he adopt a conciliatory approach?

A

When dealing with those interest groups whose support he needed to consolidate his regime

50
Q

Who were these interest groups?

A

The church and industry

51
Q

How had M wooed the vatican before becoming PM?

A

His disavowed his earlier anticlericalism and emphasised that the church had nothing to fear from fascism

52
Q

What common enemies did M point out that fascism and catholicism had?

A

Socialism and liberalism

53
Q

What happened to relations while M was PM?

A

They steadily warmed

54
Q

What did this culminate in in 1929?

A

The Lateran Agreements

55
Q

What did they finally heal?

A

They breach between the catholic church and the Italian state

56
Q

What did the agreements mean for M?

A

That he could rely on official catholic support for his regime

57
Q

What did the 1925 Vidoni Palace Pact do?

A

Banned all socialist and catholic TUs

58
Q

What happened the following year?

A

All strikes were outlawed

59
Q

What were these early concessions instrumental in securing?

A

Industrialists’ loyalty to the regime

60
Q
A

Fascist Italy (95 decks)

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