o Growing instability, 1912–14 Flashcards
What are the factors that need to be taken into account when deciding how successful the liberal government was in dealing with Italy’s growing instability between 1912-1914?
The impact of the invasion of Libya
Impact of the franchise extension of 1912 (allowing suffrage/ vote)
Resignation of Giolitti
Growth of Nationalism and
Socialism
The declaration of neutrality
What impact did the invasion of Libya have in the growing instability of the liberal government from 1912-1914?
It failed to ‘absorb’ nationalism as it increased the support of the ANI, also accentuating opposition to the Liberal Government.
Blamed Liberals for the reasons why the Italian army had lost so many men during fighting.
Led to failure to ‘absorb’ socialism as the war was seen imperialist militarism and the PSI and socialists no longer associated themselves with Giolitti and his government- right seized control, rejecting further cooperation with Giolitti.
Angered Radical socialists, expelled members who supported the war such as Bissolati.
Giolitti’s attempts at absorb the socialists into the liberal state has ended in failure.
What impact did the franchise extension of 1912 have on on the instability of the liberal government from 1912-1914?
Accentuated Giolitti’s problems as he introduced suffrage in his 1911 government programme, so now 70% of Italy’s votes were illiterate as vote extended to men over 30 literate or illiterate and soldiers. Previously vote was restricted to literate men over 21.
Instead of resulting in a sense of unification + increased popularity of the Liberals that Giolitti hoped for it just resulted in the opposite of which he hoped for. He also believed that increased sufferage would undermine the PSI, and the working class would be less inclined to support more radical ideologies.
How did the resignation of Giolitti impact the instability of the liberal government in Italy from 1912-1914?
1913 elections demonstrated failure of Giolitti’s introduction of suffrage.
Liberal deputies lost 71 seats from the 1909 elections, showing nationalists, socialists, Catholics and radicals were making extreme gains.
Main threat was the Catholic Church as rumours circulated that it made a deal for liberal candidates to agree to 7 points mainly on religious education and divorce law, in order to support them in the election. 228 liberal deputies of the 318 elected owed their victory to the Catholic support.
Thus, the liberal regime began to become reliant from support from the Catholic Church, but
concessions Giolitti already made angered socialists and anticlerical liberals and in 1914 they withdrew their support for him officially leading to Giolitti resigning.
His resignation angered Catholics who felt he could have created a pro-Catholic block now that the anti-Church faction was gone.
How did the growth of nationalism and socialism impact the instability of the liberal government in Italy from 1912-1914?
Giolitti was replaced by Antonio Sandra - believed that he could bring back liberalism by linking it closely to nationalism.
Italian society seemed the most divided it had ever been as in June 1914 the ‘Red Week’ began as PSI proclaimed national strike due to 3 protesters being shot dead in Ancona. Anarchists and radicals all joined in an northern Italy was in Chaos (as public buildings were torched, tax registers destroyed, railway stations seized and churches attacked) as hundreds of workers died in battles against authorities. Eventually, the strike was shut down as trade unions agreed to call it off.
This demonstrated to Salandra the difficulty of achieving national unity.
What impact did the 1914 declaration of neutrality have on the instability in liberal government in Italy from 1912-1914?
August 1914 WW1 broke out - Germany and Austria against Russia, Britain and France. During WW1 Italy joined the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Italy’s treaty obligations to Austria didn’t apply as they didn’t consult Italy when they declared war on Serbia, so Italy denounced that it would remain neutral, which caused conflict amongst Italian politicians and angered nationalist press who pushed for intervention.
