‘In the years 1911–14, the invasion of Libya played the most significant role in

undermining Giolitti’s control of the government.’ How far do you agree with this
statement?

I somewhat agree with the statement that the invasion of Libya played the most significant
role in undermining Giolitti’s government. The wide-ranging impacts that this invasion had,
including increasing Nationalist support, significant economic damages as well as the impact
of the franchise extension in 1912 certainly all contributed to the loss of control of Giolitti’s
government. However, as evident through the loss of Socialist cooperation as result of the
invasion, combined with the increasing Nationalist support, I would instead argue that the
root cause of the loss of control of government was down to the failures of Giolitti’s policy of
trasformismo. Therefore, many of the impacts of the invasion of Libya were rather a by-
product of Giolotti’s failed policy, which became a turning point in Giolotti’s time in
government, leading to his resignation in 1914.

The invasion of Libya commencing 29 September 1911 was heavily pressed for by the
Nationalist party and its supporters. They demanded for an aggressive foreign policy,
including expanding into other territories to gain back irredente lands, to assert world power
and unite Italy as a nation. Therefore, it would seem that by trying to absorb the Nationalists
into his government through his policy of trasformismo by invading Libya, Giolitti and his
government would become stronger as they would have shut down Nationalist opposition.
However, this backfired as the Nationalists instead claimed responsibility for pushing Giolitti
into action, gaining greater popularity as a result of this. Additionally, the Nationalists also
blamed Giolitti for both the cost of life and the huge cost of war, spending around 1,300
million lire at the expense of 3,500 troops. Therefore, Giolotti’s attempts to absorb the
Nationalists into the government by invading Libya had failed, creating a greater force of
opposition from the Nationalists as opposed to his aims of reducing it.

Not only did the invasion of Libya fail to gain the Nationalist support it had intended to, it also
resulted in the loss of cooperation between the government and the Socialists. Prior to the
invasion, Giolitti had introduced reforms such as the maternity fund in 1910 and banning the
unemployment of children under 12 as part of his policy of trasformismo. This was done in
order to absorb the Socialists into his party, attempting to reduce opposition to his
government. However, the invasion of Libya undid all of this as the Socialists predominantly
had a very anti-imperialist stance. Radical socialists, who had been angered by the growing
compromise with the liberals in parliament, expelled those members who had supported the
war, such as Bissolati, creating further strain from the liberals and the PSI. Moreover, Benito
Mussolini was appointed editor of the socialist newspaper Avanti!, which focused its
campaign on the corrupt liberal order and militarists who had murdered workers both in
Libya and Italy beginning his career in Italian politics. This further supports the argument that
Giolitti’s policy of trasformismo had failed, and that the invasion of Libya was the downfall of
this, as it signalled how it was impossible for Giolitti to appease both the Nationalist party
and the Socialist party. Therefore, the invasion of Libya was the trigger in Giolitti’s
resignation, but the roots of this problem were down to Giolitti’s trasformismo policy.

Another consequence of the invasion of Libya was the extension of the electoral Franchise
in 1912. This expanded the voting limit from literate males aged 21 and above to all males
regardless of their education over the age of 30. The war in Libya directly sped up this
extension of Giolitti’s pre-war reforms as it was difficult to directly deny the vote to Italy’s
conscripted soldiers fighting in Italy. Giolitti hoped that extending the franchise would
increase the popularity of the liberals as well as strengthen their support in more rural areas.
Additionally, Giolitti believed that increasing suffrage would undermine the PSI as with
greater electoral representation the working class would be less inclined to support more
radical ideologies. This, however, was a huge mistake as it later turned out that in the
November 1919 elections, the Catholics and PSI won the greatest number of votes,
signalling that Giolitti’s attempts to increase popularity by extending the vote had failed.
Additionally, Giolitti also faced further opposition relating to the cost of war and the cost of
life in Libya (£1,200 million Lire and around 3,5000 troops killed). Therefore, these
consequences of the invasion show that Liberal opposition was heightened, playing a huge
role in Giolitti’s loss of control of government.

Overall, I partly agree that the invasion of Libya played a role in undermining Giolitti’s control
of government. It was clear that many opposed the huge cost of war and the cost of life that
the invasion resulted in. Additionally, the extending of the Franchise in 1912 also contributed
to Giolitti’s downfall as his aims to put a stop to the working class voting for radical
ideologies had failed. The more significant outcomes of the war were the increasing support
for the Nationalists as well as the loss of cooperation between the liberals and the Socialists.
Although the invasion of Libya was a trigger of both of these outcomes, I would instead
argue that they stemmed from Giolitti’s failed policy of trasformismo as he aimed to absorb
the Nationalists into the government by invading Libya. This hugely backfired, as it resulted
in the Nationalists taking the credit for the war, and the PSI expelling its members who
supported the war, creating a huge strain from the prior cooperation with the Liberals.
Therefore, Giolitti’s policy of trasformismo was the most significant cause in his resignation
in 1914, with the invasion of Libya being the trigger for its downfall.