Resignation of Giolitti Flashcards
When were the first elections under suffrage?
The first elections under the new suffrage took place in 1933
What did the first elections under suffrage demonstrate?
The first election under the new suffrage demonstrated the overall failure of Giolitti’s strategy
What was the result?
Liberal deputies won only 318 seats, a loss of 71 seats from the 1909 election, with the socialists, nationalists, radicals and Catholics making gains
What was the critical problem?
The critical problem was the liberals’ links to the Catholic Church
What did the president of the Catholic Electoral Union secretly asked liberal candidates to do? Why?
The president of the Catholics Electoral Union, Count Gentiloni, had secretly asked liberal candidates to agree to 7 key points (mainly on religious education and divorce law) in return for the Catholic vote
What did Count Gentiloni boast about?
Count Gentiloni boasted after the election that around 228 deputies of the 318 elected owed their victory to Catholic support
What did Giolitti claim?
Giolitti claimed that he knew nothing of the pact, but regardless of whether this was true or not…
Who was the liberal regime reliant on?
The liberal regime found themselves more and more reliant on support from the Catholic Church
What was Italy becoming?
Italy was becoming more ideologically polarised
What was virtually impossible?
Giolitti’s attempt to unite oppositional groups within the liberal system using trasformismo was now virtually impossible
Why was trasformismo virtually impossible?
Giolitti’s concessions to the Catholic Church angered both socialists and anticlerical liberals within parliament
What happened in the spring of 1914? Why?
Socialists and anticlerical liberals withdrew their support for Giolitti following Count Gentiloni’s claim concerning the pact
[Withdrawl of support] What did Giolitti do?
Giolitti chose to resign
Who did Giolitti’s resignation infuriate? Why?
This in turn infuriated the Catholics who felt that with the anti-Church faction in govt gone, Giolitti could have formed a new pro-Catholic block that pursued policies in line with the Church’s teachings
