To what extent did WW1, the weakness of the existing regime and ideological

appeal aid Mussolini in his rise to power?

Mussolini’s rise to power and eventual appointment as Prime Minister had

factors which were due to his own drive and ambition, however many factors were
external and could be blamed on others incompetence and sheer luck. Although
there were many contributing factors, important ones include the consequences of
WW1, the fundamental weakness of the existing regime and ideological appeal of
the Fascists. All these and some others combined together in the lead up to the
appointment of Mussolini as Prime Minister in 1922.
In Italy the existing liberal regime was weak and divided and faced many
hardships, especially during the war. Italy entered the war late, on the side of Britain
and France, hoping to make gains at the expense of Austria-Hungary, abandoning
the Central Powers and her ties to Germany. The Italian government entered with
the hope of renewing nationalism within the country, in a state which was not
successful in Cavour’s mission of “making Italians” after having united. However, the
decision to join the war led to nothing but national debt, inflation and mass
unemployment. Italy was unprepared and poor leadership resulted in military
disasters against Austria and Germany, the chief one being Caporetto, resulting in
300,000 Italian losses. Even the victory at Vittorio Veneto was costly for Italy. This all
lead to loans from America which left Italy in national debt, printing more money and
therefore seriously increasing inflation. Italy received only modest gains for her
troubles, culminating in only South Tyrol and small parts of Dalmatia being added to
Italy, which greatly hurt existing national pride, and aided Mussolini’s rise to power
by providing a vulnerable nation, one which he could easily manipulate with his
promises of grandeur. Mussolini was able to use this in his journey by appearing as
a strong a reliable leader and having an ability to restore dignity after the
embarrassment of the Treaty of Versailles/St. Germaine.
All these points relate to the weakness of the existing regime which aided
Mussolini to a huge extent. Without the divided nature of the government sparking a
lack of confidence in Italian civilians and even the king. The Italian government was
based on the parliamentary principle of transformismo, where coalitions were formed
not based on parties and party loyalty, but rather gentlemanly agreements and fealty.
Needless to say, the liberal government was ineffective, weak and divided and
hopelessly corrupt. Similarly, the threat of the socialist party played a substantial part
in Mussolini’s rise to power and aided him to a great extent. Due to the economic
difficulties after the First World War the working class showed extreme discontent.
The socialist party decided to attempt to overrule the liberal state in order to develop
a socialist run country. This idea mirrored the events seen in The Soviet Union,
which shocked the world in 1917. The socialists were strong in their approach and
achieved a great deal of political agitation, holding even 25% of the parliament in
1914. The government was far too passive and by the time serious action was
needed it was already too late, resulting in the biennio rosso, the two red years,
where the economy was completely paralyzed by worker’s strikes. However, their
rising influence also led the wealthy bourgeoisie away from supporting the Italian
liberals, as they thought they could not protect their interests. Mussolini was again,
as a result of the Liberal government’s failure, garner support from a strata of
society. He went one step further in this with his Squadristi, which broke up strikes
and protest of the Left wing. The King, Victor Emmanuel of Piedmont was only
seeking a competent leader and the end to hostilities, while preserving the crown,
which would be difficult under Socialist or Communist rule. With his worries about
socialist overthrow and his own place on the throne at risk, by his Fascist supporting
cousin, he made the decision of appointing Mussolini as Prime Minister of Italy,
rather than risking an open civil war and further instability.
This point leads into ideological appeal which was a strong factor to
Mussolini’s consolation of power. Mussolini was appearing and growing in popularity
at a time when Italy was weak, divided and in need of a strong leader. This is where
Mussolini’s intelligence and skills show. He realised people would be looking for an
alternative to liberalism or socialism and offered them an appealing ideology. The
Catholic Church sky-rocketed support for fascism. Mussolini built a strong bond with
Pope Puis XI who allowed hanging of fascist banners in churches. This support
allowed people to keep their faith and support the fascists, which many felt was
impossible if supporting socialism. Mussolini was a journalist; his writing skills were
impressive allowing him to do a great deal. His persuasive writing helped him to be
convincing in his speeches also. The use of his newspaper ‘Il Pololo D’Italia’ was
spreading the fascist message in a positive light, and was intriguing people frustrated
with the existing government. Furthermore, his ideology was very vague with no
central text, like Nazism and Communism had, therefore, he could mould it and
adapt it to various situations. Gaset would dub the ideology “both A and anti-a.”
Although Mussolini was aware the army was no match for the black shirts he
threatened the government with the March on Rome, which in reality was anything
but glorious, Mussolini himself arriving via train from Milan, bullied into doing it by the
more hard-line Fascists, like Italo Balbo.
Another point key to Mussolini’s rise to power outside of the three above, was
the existing economic situation in Italy even before the First World War. Italy was
barely industrialized and was lagging behind the giants like Germany and Great
Britain. The North however was much wealthier than the South, which was still
almost completely rural and underdeveloped. This, coupled with the damage of the
First World War further caused economic unrest, which the laissez faire liberal
government neglected to address, preferring to stay fiscally conservative. The poor
South was very supportive of Mussolini’s ascent, as they saw his promises of Italian
revival a means to develop the region. A Marxist historian might argue this inequality
and internal class conflicts were key for Mussolini. On top of that, one has to take
into account the ineffective nature of the opposition Mussolini faced. The Socialists
and Communists were not able to organize and band together and often acted as
separate cliques. Goodland points to how Mussolini was “allowed to” come to power
by the elites, the King and chiefly opposition.
All in all, Mussolini’s rise to power was largely defined by the context in which
it took place. Italy’s “mutilated victory” in the First World War, the ineffective
government and rising socialist pressure, as well as the support for an ideology
finally promising change and the so anticipated greatness of nation-statehood. This,
coupled with some outside factors to a smaller extent, like the long-term economic
situation, as well as the ineffectiveness of the opposition finally allowed Mussolini to
establish the first Fascist state. Therefore, the First World War, the weakness of the
existing regime and ideological appeal greatly contributed to Mussolini’s rise to
power.