Helen Li Louisa Luk Zoe Cheung Elizabeth Lam

 After the unification of Italy in 1870, the new state was governed by Liberal politicians, who didn’t support the idea of people participating in the government (e.g to vote)  Liberals hence do not represent the wishes of the people  Women were not allowed to vote  There was often corruption within the government (e.g. bribery) ~ government- supported candidates ought to win!

 Proportional Representation was introduced in August 1919 Aim:  To mark an end to ‘transformismo’ and introduce mass politics and a democratic system for the government  To integrate new elite and masses in the Parliament, hence helping the Parliament serve as a “mirror” of public opinion

Problems:  The traditional “Parties soon found themselves somewhat of a minority within the Parliament.  PR led to the formation of a coalition government ~ this proved to be highly inefficient due to split opinions.  In between 1919 and 1922, five Prime Ministers were elected, nearly all from different Parties.  The PSI (Socialists) and PPI (Catholic Party) became the two largest parties within the Parliament during the course of 1919 to 1922 ~ hence led to the Red Biennium  The government was overall highly unstable

 People’s right to vote gradually increased over the years  Before 1913, the voting franchise was limited only to 2.5% of Italy’s population  By 1918, the universal male suffrage was introduced

 Coalition governments formed as a result of PSI (Socialists) and PPI (Catholic Popolari) refusing to cooperate  System returned to transformismo-style politics i.e. partnership between political parties  Failure of PPI and PSI to cooperate led five brief governments between 1918 and 1922 (Bonomi, Orlando, Giolitti, Nitti and Facta)  Governments largely unrepresentative of opinion in Parliament and Italy herself  unable to gain credibility OR consolidate liberal regimes  Attempts to help masses e.g. bread subsidies, fairer tax, 8-hr working days  Measures did NOT satisfy Radicals; worried the high-class as well  Succession of 5 different governments failed to solve Italy’s social, economic and political problems

 In 1913 government largely consisted of three general political parties  Largely corrupted and disorganized - transformismo

 1919 election results after Proportional Representation was first introduced  54 huge constituencies  508 deputies

 Pie chart shows the worst of effects of coalition governments with 54 constituencies plus 535 deputies elected on party list system

 The Italian Socialists Party (PSI) was founded in Genoa in 1892  The PSI became a mainstream Italian political party by the 1910s  The PSI had improving electoral results during the 1910s  Despite the party’s impressive electoral results, it remained divided into two branches: the Reformists (PSI) and the Maximalists (PCI).  The Maximalists (PCI) eventually broke off from the party in 1921 to form the Communist Party of Italy.  In the 1919 general election, the PSI reached its peak popularity, winning 32% of the votes and 156 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (lower house of the Parliament)

 The Italian Peoples’ Party (PPI) was founded in 1919 by Luigi Sturzo, a Catholic priest  The PPI was backed by Pope Benedict XI to oppose the increasingly popular socialists (PSI)  In the 1919 general election, the party won 20.1% of the votes and 100 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, making it the second largest party after the PSI at the time.  The PPI was divided into factions, the Catholic Democrats and the Moderate Clericalists. The Catholic Democrats were favourable in accord with the Socialists whilst the Moderate Clericalists supported an alliance with the liberal parties.  Some Populars joined Mussolini’s first government in 1922, leading to a division between those in the party that supported Mussolini and those who opposed him.  The PPI believed in Christian Democracy (Sturzo was a father/founder) which is a political ideology that seeks to implement Christian practices public policy. In practice, Christian democracy is often considered conservative on cultural, social and moral issues (social conservatism) and progressive on fiscal and economic issues.

 Founded in Rome on November 9, 1921, it marked the transformation of the paramilitary Fasci Italiani di Combattimento into a more coherent political group (the Fasci di Combattimento had been founded by Mussolini in Milan's Piazza San Sepolcro, on March 23, 1919).  The PNF was instrumental in directing and popularizing support for Mussolini's ideology. In the early years, groups within the PNF called Black shirts built a base of power by violently attacking socialists and their institutions.  The PNF was the main agent of an attempted coup d'état on October 28, 1922, the March on Rome. Even though the coup failed in giving power directly to the PNF, it nonetheless resulted in a parallel agreement between Mussolini and King Victor Emmanuel III that made Mussolini the head of the Italian government.  Initially the party harboured anti-clerical and republican values, but always maintained a nationalist agenda combined with degrees of statism and fervent anti- communism.