This essay aims to outline the factors underlying the rise of Italian Fascism after World War One. In fact, while the opportunist nature of Benito Mussolini was significant to the soaring popularity of Fascism, the incompetence of an array of Liberal governments constituted the major part of the issue. Fundamentally, the failure to address a series of political, economic, military and social issues rendered Italian Liberal governments a defamed role in Italian society. In essence, the lack of commitment from the governing elite group – mostly comprised the wealthy and educated bourgeois – jeopardised the political stability of the Liberal State upon the system of ‘trasformismo’ (Carter 2011). Other than that, only a small portion of the Italian population …show more content…
Moreover, despite the military and financial deficiencies, the Italian government insisted on participating in the Great War, leading to economic and social repercussions in the aftermath of the ‘Mutilated Victory’ (Roberts n.d.). Other than the failure of acquiring significant territories through the Treaty of Saint Germain in 1919, the Liberal governments’ inability to compensate for the loss and contribution of soldiers had also stimulated discontent in society. In the economic sector, despite the gradual industrial growth in the Northern region of Italy, there was a perpetuation of rural poverty in the South due to the failure to secure commercial interests for the prevailing agricultural industry (Carter 2011). Furthermore, in the aftermath of World War One, not only that the national debt staggeringly increased to 85 billion Italian lira, but also that inflation soared fourfold of the initial status (Roberts n.d.). Inevitably, an increasing taxation rate resulted in a considerable financial loss among the civilians, especially the middle-class. What is more, the reputation of Liberal governments further deteriorated due to the