Violence and the threat of Violence explains Mussolini’s ability to consolidate power 1922-1926. HFDYA

Question 1

Intro

Answer 1

• Mussolini became president on the 30th of October 1922 and by 1926 the parliamentary system had been changed into a dictatorship
• Threat/Violence, PNF/political and weakness of the opposition

Question 2

Threat/Violence

Answer 2

-“March on Rome” 1922, saw 40,000 fascists were placed at three location around Rome and convinced the king to hand over Presidency to the Mussolini
-Fascist and General Strike, kept trains running, thought socialist in the street and burnt down Avanti!, 1922 July
-Matteotti Crisis - In May 1924, Giacomo Matteotti, a leading socialist, publicly criticised Fascists violence. This led to him being kidnapped and murdered. Which led Mussolini to introduce press censorship in 1924 and banned all other opposition political groups or parties meeting
+The threat of violence was crucial early on and established the celerity of the movement

Question 3

Political Methods

Answer 3

• Aberbo Law, which meant that the party with the most votes gained a 2/3 majority in the Chamber of Deputies and thus guarantying the fascist a double in the number of deputies
• In December 1925, Legge Fascitissme, banned allow political party and trade unions which were a threat to the fascist state
• Growth in PNF membership - 300,000 in 1922 to 783,000 by the end of 1923.
• After 1925 all journalists were required to have their names on a central official register, controlled by the fascist,

Question 4

Weakness of opponents

Answer 4

• Transformismo incorporated Fascists into the Liberal State and was ineffective
• Aventine Secession - This meant that many oppositional MP’s (socialist, communists and Popular) left parliament.
• King had no faith in Liberal State, which meant his ruled out using martial law in 1922 March on Rome and appointed Mussolini as PM, the Liberal state gave too much power to the king
• General Strike 1922 July, was crushed by the fascists showing the power with the fascists

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

• The threat of violence gained power with the king and support
• Political methods were important to consolidating power and starting the dictatorship
• The weakness of opposition was the underlying factor, the king at the start and allowed the fascists to crush socialist/communists