M3- Relationships with political and economic interests

Question 1

what was the role of the King in Mussolini’s dictatorship?

Answer 1

Italy was still a constitutional monarchy

Question 2

who was the King?

Answer 2

Victor Emanuel III

Question 3

why was the original fascist policy of anti-monarchism dropped in 1920?

Answer 3

Mussolini understood how important the relationship with the King was in order to gain and consolidate his power

Question 4

what did Mussolini’s relationship with the King help him gain acceptance of?

Answer 4

the armed forces
the state administration

both were incredibly loyal to the King

Question 5

what powers did the King lose in December 1928?

Answer 5

the ability to nominate future PMs

he now had to choose from a list of fascists provided by the Grand Council of Fascism

Question 6

why was this significant for Mussolini’s consolidation of power?

Answer 6

as Mussolini was the head of the Grand Council of Fascism he was in charge of providing the list of fascist candidates

so he had control over who future PMs would be

Question 7

what powers did the King lose in March 1938?

Answer 7

a law was passed which created the title of First Marshal of the Empire

role was given to both the King and Mussolini

the King was no longer the supreme commander of the armed forces

Question 8

why was this significant for Mussolini?

Answer 8

he could now take control of the armed forces, something he does when he enters WW2 in 1940

Question 9

however, what power did the King retain?

Answer 9

the power to remove Mussolini

Question 10

what was the King’s relationship with Mussolini like?

Answer 10

he played a subservient character by not challenging Mussolini

he was only interested in retaining his position as King

Question 11

example of King being subservient to Mussolini

Answer 11

the King did not try to stop the unpopular implementation of racial and anti-semitic decrees in 1938

Question 12

concl on Mussolini and the King

Answer 12

was a balancing act

Mussolini needed the King’s early support to get control of the armed forces and state

the King was still in a strong position to depose Mussolini BUT chose not to

the King was too concerned with his own position

Question 13

which of the conservative elites did Mussolini prepared to work with?

Answer 13

army
judiciary
civil service

Question 14

what was Mussolini’s view on the role of judiciary?

Answer 14

they were important for him to suppress opposition

Question 15

what did Mussolini do to the judiciary?

Answer 15

he sacked many judges for not being sympathetic enough to Fascism

Mussolini wanted the judiciary to follow his government’s instructions and legislature

many judges joined the PNF to ensure their positions were retained

Question 16

concl on Mussolini and judiciary

Answer 16

he had removed judges who were not aligned with Fascism

most judges joined the PNF which allowed Mussolini to control the legal system

Mussolini himself would occasionally intervene in legal cases by dictating verdicts and sentences

LEGAL SYSTEM WAS NO LONGER INDEPENDENT

Question 17

what did Mussolini do to the armed forces?

Answer 17

allowed them to run as independent institution

put generals or admirals in charge of running the armed forces

Question 18

why was the civil service less of an issue for Mussolini?

Answer 18

they were largely sympathetic to Mussolini and the fascist cause

Question 19

how did Mussolini ensure loyalty in the civil service?

Answer 19

he used his power of patronage to reward loyalty
he understood that by appeasing the conservatives the civil service would be happy

Question 20

how many civil servants were PNF members in 1927?

Answer 20

15%

Question 21

why did PNF membership in the civil service rise in the 1930s?

Answer 21

civil servants understood that being a PNF member was a major factor in getting a promotion

Question 22

concl on Mussolini and civil service

Answer 22

he didnt have to do much

most civil servants supported Mussolini

simply had to appease and reward loyalty to keep civil servants in side

they loyally carried out the instructions of Mussolini

Question 23

how did Mussolini get the support of the traditional conservative elite?

Answer 23

by giving them powerful positions such as being Prefect or podesta

thus old ruling elite were inclined to support fascism

Question 24

what did the Leggi Fascistissime change with regards to Mussolini’s position as PM?

Answer 24

he was no longer answerable to parliament and deputies

he had complete control over legislation and laws

Question 25

what change was made to parliament in May 1928?

Answer 25

parliament was to be made up of 400 fascists deputies chosen by the Grand Council of Fascism

Question 26

what was the Grand Council of Fascism made in December 1928?

Answer 26

the most important legal body in the Italian constitution

Question 27

why was this significant for the PNF?

Answer 27

would allow it to rule after Mussolini's death as well

Question 28

was the Grand Council of Fascism influential in governing?

Answer 28

nope Mussolini had complete control over the council and only he could appoint senior the council barely even met in the 1930s

Question 29

when was parliament abolished?

Answer 29

January 1939

Question 30

what replaced parliament?

Answer 30

Chamber of Fasces and Corporations

Question 31

concl on Mussolini and central government

Answer 31

Mussolini had complete control over parliament from 1925 with opposition parties banned and only fascists in parliament, parliament became useless to add to this Mussolini could rule by decree which meant that parliament was only used for ratification ended up being replaced by fascist equivalents which were also under Mussolini's complete authority

Question 32

what was the role of a Prefect?

Answer 32

highest state authority in each Italian province in charge of policing and censorship of the local press

Question 33

who were appointed Prefects?

Answer 33

role was given mainly to the traditional elite to keep them on side Mussolini had no intention of giving this position to fascists or ras Mussolini had complete control over who was appointed which allowed him to ensure loyalty on a provincial level

Question 34

concl on Mussolini and the local government

Answer 34

despite giving the positions of power to civil servants and traditional elte... ULTIMATELY these people were ferociously loyal to Mussolini and the fascists therefore Mussolini was able to control local governance as well as being able to strengthen his role as dictator

Question 35

who did Mussolini appoint Secretary of the Fascist Party in 1925?

Answer 35

Roberto Farinacci

Question 36

who was purged by Farinacci in 1925?

Answer 36

PNF members who did not agree with Mussolini's direction for the party

Question 37

why was Farinacci becoming a problem for Mussolini?

Answer 37

he was too radical and extreme he encouraged fascist violence against both Socialists and Catholics, which after the Matteotti crisis was extremely unpopular Mussolini did not want any more fascist violence to occur (after speech in Jan 1925)

Question 38

who did Mussolini replace Farinacci with in 1926 as party secretary?

Answer 38

Turati

Question 39

what changes to the PNF did Turati bring?

Answer 39

he expelled the older hard-line fascists from the party

Question 40

how many PNF members were kicked out of the party by 1929?

Answer 40

60,000

Question 41

who succeeded Turati as party secretary in 1931?

Answer 41

Giurati

Question 42

what changes to the PNF did Giurati make?

Answer 42

he purged more PNF members he replaced these members with new fascists

Question 43

how many new fascists did Giurati bring into membership in 1931?

Answer 43

800,000

Question 44

who were these new fascists and why did they join?

Answer 44

those who worked in government jobs saw PNF membership as useful for career progression as well as for the benefits it provided cared little about a fascist revolution and challenging Mussolini therefore loyal

Question 45

when did PNF membership become compulsory for government workers?

Answer 45

1933

Question 46

concl on Mussolini and the PNF

Answer 46

he had appointed and instructed party secretaries to purge the PNF of it's traditional old hard-line members who represented the radical element of the PNF Mussolini wanted to maintain popularity and so the violence had to go... (shown in Mussolini's sacking of Farinacci) Mussolini replaced these hard-line fascists with middle-class govt workers who had no interest in pushing for a fascist revolution or even challenging Mussolini

Question 47

who did Mussolini appoint as Minister of the Interior to appease the nationalists?

Answer 47

Federzoni

Question 48

after the merger with the PNF, what did many nationalists think about Mussolini?

Answer 48

they followed his political direction and had no interest in opposing him UNLIKE the fascists themselves

Question 49

who was Mussolini's longest serving minister?

Answer 49

Costanzo Ciano was an ex-nationalist was Minister of Communications for 10 years his son married Mussolini's daughter

Question 50

which nationalist was in charge of the reform of customs?

Answer 50

Danielli

Question 51

what was the reform of customs?

Answer 51

removal of foreign sounding words

Question 52

concl on Mussolini and the Nationalists

Answer 52

probably his best working relationship got even better after Mussolini's foreign policy became more expanisonist it was the ANI's initial policies in the 1910s which drew the PNF to adopt a more nationalistic approach with the merger of the ANI and the representation of nationalists in ministerial positions, Mussolini trusted nationalists