Mussolini's Consolidation of Power

Mussolini's Consolidation of Power

From 1922 to 1928, Mussolini managed to successfully maintain Fascist

power because of a combination of different factors. Lack of

political opposition was certainly an advantage during this time but

it may have not been the main reason why Mussolini was able to sustain

control. Other aspects, such as Mussolini’s exploitation of the

socialist threat, propaganda and perhaps most importantly, the party’s

relationship with the Catholic Church were probably more significant

contributors to the period of Fascism.

Despite this, the fact that there was little political resistance at

this time certainly made it easier for Mussolini to gain and keep

Facsist power. The lack of oppostion from the King and other

prominent politicans such as Giollitti allowed him to pass acts such

as the Aceobo law 1924 and eventually the right to issue decrees in

early 1926. This lack of opposition combined with the party’s strong

leadership meant that Mussolini was able to heavily influence

politicians. In fact, until 1928, King Victor Emmanuel had the power

to chose the Primeminister and therefore had the ability to remove

Mussolini from power. Had he excercised his power, Mussolni would

not have been able to push parliament to give the fascist party more

control. The fact that politicians didn’t resist Mussolini was because

of his skill as a dictator: using the fascist sqauds to create choas,

he was able to convince deputies in parliament that he needed more

power in order to control law and order. As early as 1922, leading

politicians allowed Mussolini to strengthen the control of the party

by establishing th...

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...n in power. While relations with the church were successful,

Mussolini remained firmly in power.

It was true that too few politicians were prepared to oppose Mussolini

but this was only because of his ability to exploit politican’s fears

in order to keep opposition under control. The reason why they were

unwilling to dispute him was because of Mussolinis support from the

catholic church, which gave him a political and moral advantage.

Although other key interest groups were important in helping Mussolini

gain power, it was the Church which held a significant role in society

that promoted and sustained Fascist views. It was only after the

relationship with the church began to cool in 1931 after the fascist

attack on Catholic youth groups and introduced a policy of

anti-semnitism that Fascist rule began to decline.