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A dictator, by definiton, is an authoritarian ruler who assumes sole power of a state. By 1926 Mussolini had achieved this ambition and established a personal dictatorship over Italy. However when considering the nature of Mussonlini’s power it is important to remember Italy still remained officially a constitutional monarchy during this period and was far less brutal and totalitarian than its German equivalent. In theory Mussolini’s power was unlimited. Italy was a one party state and Mussolini was leader of that party but there were several limitations to his power.
Mussolini was determined to ensure that all real power rested in his hands alone and not in government.
He was not prepared to share powers with his ministers and by 1929 was personally in charge of eight ministries. The role of ministers was to follow Mussolini’s instructions unquestioningly and those who didn’t were simply dismissed. In fact Mussolini was so afraid of debate and advice he ended up dismissing all his most able ministers, replacing them with hopeless ‘yes’ men.
The Fascist government was disorganised and chaotic; Mussolini was incapable of delegating effectively and focused on trivial matters rather than concentrating on important issues.
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He also interfered regularly in policy making, often to a detrimental effect. Parliament was particularly targeted; by 1926 it had lost its ability to discuss policy, to debate and to amend proposed legislation, while Mussolini alone had the power to make laws simply by issuing decrees. Mussolini did not run an effective government and this would certainly question his position as an all-powerful dictator.
Mussolini also attempted to alter traditional institutions of the state to consolidate his position.
The judiciary, for example, was purged of ‘undesirables’ and Mussolini sometimes intervened in individual cases, supporting the idea of him as an all-powerful dictator. On the whole Mussolini’s approach to traditional institutions of the Italian state was relatively appeasing however this was not without a hidden agenda. Mussolini recognised replacing the personnel in these institu tions entirely with Fascist members would provoke an unnecessary clash and would give the ascist party even more power which he was anxious to avoid. However the fact that most existing sate institutions were little changed might question Mussolini’s role as an all-powerful dictator as to be all-powerful suggests complete dominance over all aspects of the state. It also important to remember Mussolini was only the Head of the Government (as the King remained Head of State) unlike Hitler who managed to successfully combine both offices. The PNF was to play a very minimal role in Mussolini’s dictatorship, as the historian Bhinkham said, “Fascist Italy may have been a one party state, but it was not a party state”.
Mussolini wanted to rule through the state not the party and thus the party was systematically weakened and absorbed by the state. Radical fascists were immediately purged and top jobs were held by people Mussolini could easily dominate for example Starace, the party secretary from 1930 onwards. The creation of a paid militia also strengthened Mussolini’s position as it provided paid employment for Fascist squadristri and helped to ensure their continued loyalty. Farinacci was key in centralising the party however he was then sacked by Mussolini to block his more radical ambitions of a Fascist revolution.
In theory the Fascist Grand Council was to be the ruling body of the Fascist regime however in practice it was entirely subordinate to Mussolini who elected its members and decided when it met. The PNF was also a very divided movement, a broad and uneasy coalition of groups with widely differing political views that only Mussolini could unite. Ultimately Mussolini weakened and bureaucratised the party ensuring all power lay solely with him Mussolini attempted to consolidate his power by appeasing powerful interest groups notably the Church, industrialists and the King.
However his dependency on the elites could be viewed as his biggest weakness as a dictator. Technically the king had the power to dismiss Mussolini at any time, which was a significant weakness in Mussolini’s dictatorship. Mussolini’s rise to power was not achieved through revolution but legitimately through appointment by the King, this is hardly in keeping with the perception of an all-powerful dictator. However although Mussolini may have followed protocol, visiting the King twice a week, the ‘March on Rome’ and the ‘Mattteoiti crisis’ had already proved the King was weak and not prepared to stand up to his prime minister.
Although had there been a serious dispute between Mussolini and the King, the King could always have counted on the support of the armed forces that remained loyal to him. Mussolini was also seen to compromise with business and agrarian elites, favouring them in economic policies while avoiding any radical change that would alienate their support. The Papacy was another institution with which Mussolini could not seriously hope to compete with. The Catholic Church was so deeply rooted in Italian life, in a civil as well as religious capacity, that it could not be challenged directly without endangering Mussolini’s stability and survival.
Mussolini recognised the importance and strength of the Church and thus embarked on the Lateran agreements of 1923 to formally reconcile it to the Italian state. Mussolini made significant concessions in the Concordat, which legalised the church’s supreme position in Italian society. This is one of many examples of Mussolini compromising his power suggesting he was not an all-powerful dictator. The elites had the potential power to get rid of Mussolini however were not prepared to use it.
Propaganda is central to any successful regime and Mussolini’s dictatorship was no different. Historians such as Tannebaum have described the fascist approach to propaganda as “amateurish” however it was successful in suppressing criticism of Mussolini and ensuring the press followed official views. The heavy state control of the media particularly newspapers and radio would support the view of Mussolini as an all-powerful dictator, hostile journalists were arrested or replaced and a 1924 decree implemented strict censorship of the press.
However some underground anti-Fascist newspapers continued to circulate proving this state control was not infallible while other aspects of the media such as cinema were virtually ignored. The ‘Cult of the Duce’ was vital in building support for the Mussoli ni and stressed his indispensability as leader of the nation. Similarly propaganda slogans such as “Mussolini is God” and “Mussolini is always right” presented Mussolini as a god-like figure and reinforced the idea of Mussolini as an all-powerful dictator.
The extent to which this propaganda succeeded is difficult to measure as propaganda is designed to affect people’s attitudes and this is hard to assess. Mussolini employed a range of repressive measures to consolidate his power as a dictator. The MVSN and the OVRA created a climate of fear with sporadic violence and a vast network of over 100,000 informants. Those who opposed the regime were forced into ‘confino’ (internal exile) and the ban on all other political parties combined with the implementation of censorship prevented the formation of any organised opposition.
The Fascist regime seemed tolerable and even popular, active resistance seemed pointless. The lack of significant opposition within Italy would certainly support the view of Mussolini as an all-power dictator. The Italy Mussolini created was one in which he alone possessed ultimate power. Mussolini’s concessions to the elites are often cited as a key weakness of his dictatorship however it could be argued these compromises were a brilliant political manoeuvre on the part of Mussolini to get these powerful conservative forces to join the consensus behind the regime.
He established a personal dictatorship, rearranged government infrastructure so he was the centre of power and systematically weakened the PNF to remove the threat of any organised opposition. The elites, the old institutions of government and the Fascist Party all competed against each for power but they looked to Mussolini to resolve disputes and make the final decisions. Without him the chaotic government could not of functioned and the regime would have collapsed.
Mussolini an All-Powerful Dictator. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/mussolini-an-all-powerful-dictator-essay
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