Fighting Fascism: How to Struggle and How to Win - Fascist electoral gains
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Table of contents
- The social-democratic view of fascism
- The social roots of fascism
- Failure of proletarian leadership
- Fascism’s mass character
- The bourgeoisie and fascism
- Fascism’s rise in Italy
- Demoralization and terror
- Fascist electoral gains
- Fascist apparatus
- The failed general strike
- Fascist promises vs. performance
- Fascism’s contradictions
- Proletarian awakening
- Who will topple fascism?
- Fascism in Germany
- Combating fascism’s appeal
- To the masses!
- Workers’ self-defense and the united front
The government then had cause and opportunity to forcibly strike down fascism, which was moving in on it threateningly. But in the prevailing situation, that would have caused a strengthening of the workers’ movement. Better the fascists than the Socialists and revolutionaries, Giolitti thought. The sly old fox dissolved parliament and decreed new elections in May 1921. He created an “alliance for order” of all the bourgeois parties and brought into it the fascist organizations. During the electoral campaign, fascism engaged in boisterous republican appeals. This antimonarchical and antidynastic agitation fell silent now that the Agrarian Party leaders and masses were joining it. The fascist gains in the election were largely due to this support as well as the extension and growing strength of the fasci, which in May 1921 had 2,000 groups. Mussolini was indisputably exposing himself and his cause to the risk inherent in flooding the fascist movement with agrarian forces. He recognized that, by halting sham revolutionary antimonarchical agitation, he was giving up a strong incentive for the masses to join the fascists.
When the electoral battle was over, Mussolini wanted to go back to his slogans of 1919. In an interview with a reporter from Giornale d’Italia—which represents the interests of heavy industry—he stated that the elected fascists would not take part in the opening of parliament because it was impossible for them to shout, “Long live the king!” after the speech from the throne. This announcement had the effect of showing the strength of the agrarian wing in fascism. Some deputies elected with support of the fascist groups quit to join the monarchists and nationalists. A meeting was called of the fascist deputies together with regional delegates of the fasci in order to settle the dispute. Mussolini and his proposal were defeated. He reined in his republicanism with the explanation that he did not want to split fascism over this question.