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Italy 1918-1922

Italy 1918-1922. Political situation. Political background. Liberal Party state dominated by the rich and the elite. Did not reflect the Italians. Most Italians were Catholics; Liberals and the Pope were on bad terms. South was very poor compared to the North; new state wanted to exclude it.

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Italy 1918-1922

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  1. Italy 1918-1922 Political situation

  2. Political background • Liberal Party state dominated by the rich and the elite. • Did not reflect the Italians. • Most Italians were Catholics; Liberals and the Pope were on bad terms. • South was very poor compared to the North; new state wanted to exclude it. • War debts caused high taxes • Government was very corrupt. • People were very disappointed!

  3. 1919 and 1921 election results • Two main parties: Socialists (PSI) and Catholic Popolari (PPI). • Both did well during the 1919 elections. • Did not run the Government. • 1919: Proportional represenation • 54 huge constituencies • 508 deputies elected on a Party list system • 1921: 535 deputies • Popolari: split between reformers and conservatives. • Socialists: split between reformers and revolutionaries.

  4. Proportional Representation and the franchise • Proportional Representation: • Introduced in August 1919 The percentage of seats a Political party gets in the parliament according to the number of votes they win in the election. • Franchise: • Before 1913, voting franchise was only 2.5% of Italy’s population. • 1918: Universal male suffrage introduced; all males were allowed to vote.

  5. Proportional Representation and the franchise • Problems: • Strong Parties from before became a minority. • Coalition Government was formed; proved to be inefficient due to opposing opinions. • No cooperation. • Proportions of parties were inaccurate. • Aims: • Create a modern democratic system for the Government. • To improve the parliament by integrating the masses and elite, to make the parliament represent the people’s opinion more. • Mark an end to ‘transformismo’ and begin to introduce mass politics.

  6. Coalition governments A Coalition government is where two or more political parties join together in parliament/assembly to run the government and agree on a policy programme. • Introduction of a new system of Proportional Representation. • The Popolari was approved by the pope, yet obtained independent of Church control. • Represented Catholic views. • Hoping to reflect the views of the whole of Italy. • Two mass parties; Socialists (PSI) and Catholic Popolari (PPI) • Did well during the 1919 elections. • Neither played a role in the government despite the results. • Refused to cooperate with one another, thus Coalition governments were formed because of this. • Giolitti failed to gain cooperation of both parties before the war • Popolari were split between reformers and conservatives • Socialists were split between reformers and revolutionaries

  7. Disagreement between both parties resulted in having the old Liberal politicians still in power. • The system returned to Transformismo-style politics. • i.e. Partnership between political parties. • Transformismo is a system of changing government by winning support from former opponents. • The failure of PPI and PSI to cooperate led the formation of five brief governments between 1918 to 1922 (Bonomi, Orlando, Giolitti, Nitti and Facta). • These governments were largely unrepresentative of opinion in Parliament and Italy herself. • Unable to gain credibility OR consolidate liberal regimes. • Attempts to help masses eg. Bread subsidies, fairer tax, 8 hour working days. • Measures did not satisfy Radicals, and worried some people of high class. • Succession of 5 different governments failed to solve Italy’s social, economical, and political problems.

  8. New political parties • Socialists and Catholic Popolari (PPI) were the two main political groups. • Socialism (PSI, Italian Socialist Party) had a greater influence: • Red flags flying over town halls • Postage stamps showing the hammer and the sickle • Blood-curdling speeches about revolution • Always had more votes than PPI • Some say they helped the Fascists into power.

  9. New political parties • Organization • All stood behind a programme: to aim for a Socialist programme where there would be nationalism in all land. • Split in the party: • Maximalists: urged revolution to enact their programme. • Minimalists: wanted to use Parliament to enact reforms on the way to full socialism. • January 1921, PCT (Communist Party) became independent based on Lenin’s terms. • Industrial wing: unions combined to form CGL (General Confederation of Labour), Chambers of Labour and Socialist Leagues to protect workers’ interests.

  10. New political parties • PSI controlled local councils, but co-operation failed: • Pressure for change benefitted them. • Patriots didn’t like the Socialists: • ‘neither support nor sabotage’. • Socialists did not join the war; stayed working for higher wages in factories. • Lost potential supporters. • No capable leaders to unify a majority. • 3 main wings (National PSI, Socialist unions, Socialist Councils) were split.

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