The Crisis of the Liberal State and the Rise of Fascism

Dr. Simon Martin.

The Liberal Legacy

Piedmontisation
Annexation not unification

Wealth-based Franchise. Regionally divided parliament. Southern Chaos. Economy. Alienation of Church from State.
1871: Non expedit decree
Italy, pre-Unification

Foundation Fascist Movement

Fascio di Combattimento. Literally the group of excombatants. Founded by Mussolini in Piazza San Sepolcro Milan on 23 March 1919. 200 attendees. Rejects conventional politics. We prize above everything... the experience of revolutionary war.

Biennio Rosso 1919-20

Budget deficit 1914: 2.9 bn Lire 1919: 84.9 bn Lire Currency Devaluation (lire to sterling) Mar 1919: 30 Dec 1919: 50 Dec 1920: 100 Inflation Price Index 1913: 100 1918: 413 1920: 591 June 1919 Cost of Living Riots

Local Govt under Socialists

After 1920 local government elections PSI controls:
1/3 all town councils all provincial councils Nearly all administrations are in hands of maximalists

Anti-Socialist actions in 1920

Nov 1920: Maximalist Socialists win local elections in Bologna. Fascists attack town hall as new council sworn in. 9 killed. Council suspended by Ministry of Interior. Prefect rules by decree. Dec 1920: Similar events Ferrara. Squads present themselves as best defence against Socialism.

Development of Fascist Squads

Violent direct action. Beatings with sticks, forced victims to drink castor oil. Modelled military units, black shirt uniforms. Extreme masculine culture: Menefregismo not giving a damn. Recruited nationalist veterans and students. Financed local industrial and agrarian elites.

Rise of the Ras

Young, charismatic leaders of fasci. Italo Balbo Ferrara. Dino Grandi Bologna. Roberto Farinacci Cremona. Command own squads. Possess autonomous funds. Potential to challenge Mussolini.
Italo Balbo

Countryside Agrarian Fascism

South peasants occupy land. Catholic tenant farmers leagues: Northern Alps. Po Valley: Socialist Federterra, 900,000 members, 1920. Strike, July 1920: 500,000 sharecroppers, Tuscany. Fascist breakthrough Po Valley. South: Little success. Destroy Federterra premises, beat up activists. Fascist syndicates for braccianti. Farmers agree to hire workers only from Fascist syndicate. Ferrara syndicate set up Feb: 40,000 members June. Bologna province: 6 fasci in March, 43 in October.

Industry
Institute for Industrial Mobilisation (IMI): larger factories & worker representation during war. FIAT largest motor-vehicle manufacturer in Europe. Union membership 1920 CGL - Socialist Trade Union Confederation - 2 million CIL - Catholic 1.2 million USI - Syndicalist 0.3 million

Occupation of the Factories, 1920

30 August: Occupation of factories & shipyards. 500,000 involved. 150,000 in Fiat plants in Turin. Establish factory councils. 10 September CGL refuses to transform into revolution. 25 September Giolittis proposals
Trade Unions onto management boards.

30 September: Occupation ends: scared industrialists.

Reaction against Giolitti Administration June 1920-July 1921

Threat of taxes on luxuries and war profits. Alienates middle classes. Sept 1920. Handling factory occupations promise trade union commissions. Alienates industrial/commercial elite. Oct 1920-Jan 1921. Promise of recognition land occupations, braccianti to be guaranteed jobs in winter. Alienates agrarian elites. Nov-Dec 1920. Treaty of Rapallo, expulsion DAnnunzio from Fiume. Alienates nationalists and veterans.

May 1921 Elections

National Bloc 275 seats
( Fascist 35)

Socialists 122 Italian Popular Party (PPI) 107 TOTAL 535 Fascists in Giolitti government. After election Fascists join opposition. No overall majority. Giolitti forced resign.
Luigi Facta Prime Ministers July 1921 Bonomi (Social Dem) Feb 1922 Facta (Liberal) Aug 1922 Facta

The Fascist Rise To Power

The Fasces
Bundle of rods & axe carried by Roman lictors. Fasces represented regimes new society:
people bound together law and order prevailed

Foundation of PNF
1919, Fascism was movement not a Party. PNF formed October 1921. Tripartite structure National Parliamentary party led by Mussolini. Provincial squads. Fascist Syndicates led Edmondo Rossoni.

Fascist membership - Nov 1921

Composition Agricultural workers Industrial workers White Collar Students Landowners Small Traders Professions Industrialists Dec 1921: 218,000 May 1922: 332,000 24% 15% 16% 13% 12 % 9% 6% 3% Analysis Workers members of syndicates Students c.2% active population 1 in 7 male students active Fascists White collar c.5% active population

Movement of the rising middle classes Renzo de Felice

Urban Fascism
consolidate m/c support be a middle-party. Original Fascists; ex-combatants/ students. Opposed excesses of agrarian Fascism Transition into political party.

1921 Fascist Crisis

Agrarian Fascism
perfect methods that seemed to be working well
Terror & control of labour Largely peasants & labourers no ties of commonality. rank & file army than a political party Feared restoration of normal politics.

The March on Rome October 1922

31 July: Socialist General Strike fails. October Mussolini negotiates with everybody. Mass rally of 40,000, Naples, 24 October . March on Rome, 27-28 October. 28 October: King refused PM Factas request to declare martial law. 29 October: King asks Mussolini form govt.

Role of the King

Why didnt King declare martial law? Feared army might prove disloyal Socialists posed biggest threat to monarchy.

Why should he have declared martial law? Any outcome to the political crisis had to involve Fascists.

King Victor Emanuel III

Explaining the Seizure of Power

War and massive loss of life, demands new type of politics. Mutilated victory, stirs nationalism. Economic crisis, collapse of the Lira. Affects m/c Context of the Russian Revolution: October 1917. Intensified by Biennio Rosso and Occupation of Factories. Mussolini did not seize power by force didnt need to. Won it by threat alone, & obedient squads. Fascism presented itself as a revolution. Mussolini heads a coalition government. Fascism brought into the system by King to contain violence. Country tired by protracted failure to find any effective govt.