Mussolini's Ascent to Absolute Power

How Benito Mussolini Ascended to Absolute Power

In 1922, as fascist boots covered Rome’s ground, their hands heavy with guns, Benito Mussolini was brokering a fatal deal with Italy’s King, Victor Emmanuel III. Mussolini’s fascist style of government initially appeared democratic and constitutional, but totalitarian instincts seeped in as the balance of power tipped firmly in Mussolini’s favour through scare tactics and relatively weak opposition. Ultimately, Mussolini and his army’s use of force bound Italy; it bound its system of constitutional government and forced it to yield to his system of violence, autocracy and dictatorship.

In the buildup to Mussolini’s revolt, he attempted to work within the constraints of the law and the confines of constitutionality. He harnessed Italy’s fear of communism, exacerbated by the Russian Revolution, and the fact that the Socialists won the 1919 national elections, with the use of his paramilitary organisation, the Blackshirts, which consisted of disenfranchised ex-soldiers. They operated incredibly freely within the broad confines of the law, predominantly because the Italian government reflected Italy’s fear of communism. Him and his fascists were on the road to gaining the support they needed to wrestle power away from democratic means. Meanwhile, Mussolini was busy being elected to Italy’s Parliament. He founded the Fascist Party in 1921, the same year he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. His road to election consisted of anti-communist rhetoric which cut across the class divide, and the populist appeal to humiliation; eerily reminiscent of Hitler, he tapped into the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. He portrayed himself as the only saviour against communist decadence, and won support for his cause across class splits.

On the eve of Mussolini’s March on Rome, Mussolini’s Blackshirts had 200,000 members. He had successfully harnessed popular belief and emotion surrounding the rise of communism, and more nationalist humiliation. Fascist parties had been merged, and fascism was united in its goals. In 1921, his party had only 35 deputies in Parliament – he would have to take power by force. Mussolini now controlled the means for a revolution, and the means to genuinely, and meaningfully, challenge the institutions of state. He and his army commenced the assault on constitutional government in October of 1922. He had a plan, namely that fascists would descend on Rome and occupy every key public building, including those outside of Rome. At the party’s 1922 conference, Mussolini asserted: ‘Either the Government will be given to us or we shall seize it by marching on Rome.’ Despite the fascists being outnumbered by the military, the King was keen to avoid an armed conflict, namely civil war. He refused to declare martial law, and Mussolini had the power to demand power. The King ceded to Mussolini, meeting him on the 29^th of October, and handing him the role of prime Minister on the 30^th. The framework of fascism had been established, and the fearful King had accepted it. He now had the foundations of power. Mussolini had managed to seize power without the shot of a gun, and had the means to control Italy, which he would eventually do, with nothing less than an iron fist.

Consolidating power and support with a benevolent face was Mussolini’s next task. To divert the attention and alliance of the working class away from the socialists, he made certain enticing promises. He promised Italian workers the elusive 8-hour day, which was central to the goals of trade unionists, who had to be conciliated, especially considering calls for a general strike on the eve of the March on Rome. Death duties were reduced, and an investigation made into industrialists and their profits made during wartime was abandoned. His motive behind this was to seduce the wealthy; those who would enable him in the media. He harnessed this opportunity with parades and mass gatherings, reminiscent of Hitler’s cult of personality. Mussolini appeared to be a strong leader who would fix Italy’s problems, namely economic issues – by 1920, the Lira was running at 1/6 of its 1913 value. Mussolini galvanised support to enable his power by being the one who would change Italy for the better, compared to the Socialists, who would only destroy it.

The 1924 election, and the runup to it, played a vastly important role in Mussolini’s snatching of power. He needed a majority in Parliament, and drew up a means to this end; one which proved to be fatal to democracy. The Acerbo Law of 1923 stated that the party with the most votes, and at least 25% of the vote, would gain 2/3 of the seats in Parliament. It revamped the Italian electoral system, which was previously administered by proportional representation, which made coalitions almost inevitable. Liberals and Catholic deputies either abstained or affirmed the bill, largely because they believed Communists and Socialists were a bigger threat, with some believing in the necessity of a strong leader. The Blackshirts were sent into the Italian Parliament, with the end goal being intimidation. Mussolini used violence and scare tactics to establish his position in Parliament, and set himself up for a crushing victory in 1924. His National List won 4.6m votes, with the blatant assistance of suppression of oppression, by his Blackshirts - with Mussolini saying ‘a good beating never hurt anyone’ - and electoral fraud on a national scale. This gave him 374 seats from 535. The Acerbo Law played a huge role in Mussolini’s ascent to dictator, and facilitated his control over the 1924 election, whilst his fascist paramilitaries helped to ensure electoral victory, and the power needed to establish himself as dictator.

In January of 1925, Mussolini with swagger and arrogance declared: ‘I declare….in front of the Italian people……that I alone assume the political, moral and historic responsibility for everything that has happened. Italy wants peace and quiet, work and calm. I will give these things with love if possible and with force if necessary.’ In November of 1926, political opposition was swept away, with opposition parties being banned and newspapers resistant to Mussolini’s regime were outlawed. A secret police force was set up in 1927, for ‘serious political offences.’ He had revolutionised Italy’s democratic institutions into an autocratic reflection of his desire for power. Italy was now a police state, which had suspended civil rights, and disregarded its people in exchange for a clear political apex.

Ultimately, Mussolini’s ascent to power was reliant on his Blackshirts; without them, he wouldn’t have achieved such electoral success, and wouldn’t have been able to create the framework for his electoral success. Most importantly, without his treasured paramilitary group, he wouldn’t have had the power to leverage the King in the way that he did. But his ability to bide his time, and his patience, meant that he was able to strike when the time was right; there was no innate rashness surrounding his actions. Italy’s crushing fear of communism meant that Mussolini could portray himself as an alternative, and did so, to great effect. Overall, Mussolini’s political aptness, and ability to get what he wanted, along with external factors, meant that he was able to rise to the position of dictator in Italy, and transform it from a constitutional state to one that saw democracy as a plague.

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