Operation Husky: The Invasion Of Power By Benito Mussolini

On 25 July 1943, Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy, was voted out of power by the Grand Council. Il Duce responded to this happening with unusual meekness and sense of helplessness, as he was simply paralyzed and shocked by the vote of “no confidence” and his subsequent arrest. One of the more reasonable within the Council, Dino Grandi, argued that the dictatorship “had brought Italy to the brink of military disaster, elevated incompetents to levels of power, and lost the support of the people” when he was initiating the vote to limit Mussolini’s power. This was the coherent argument that was directly behind Mussolini’s deposition, and this assumption will serve as the basis of my essay. However, to be able to determine the main cause

To most Italians, including those in political power, the war was now surely lost. Sicily was overrun by the Allies, and the holy city of Rome was being bombed. The nation was very upset about the military losses the country was experiencing, as many of the soldiers were their friends or family. The regional and central governments were acting in a chaotic and incoherent way with no communication between the administration and the people. Mussolini’s illness added to the situation as no-one was clear of what the state’s goals and agenda were, except its imperialistic ambitions. The uncertainty and failing living conditions tired and enraged a large part of the population, alienating them from Mussolini’s

Because Mussolini established himself as a totalitarian leader and was able to bend the Fascist ideology to his will he developed a severe megalomania that set a dangerous pretext for his regime and country. Mussolini held the title of Duce or leader, but by 1929 he had another nine posts including minister of foreign affairs, defence and the interior. This was a tool that was used to promote his cult of personality, but also greatly restricted the functionality of several ministries at once, as Il Duce simply could not cope with the amount of time and energy each of these positions demanded. The Fascist government prior and during the Second World War can be pretty much defined by Mussolini holding an endless dialogue with himself, as he essentially was the sole decision-making body and could pass any law without input or hindrance from others. Every part of the country and government institution was to a large extent controlled and supervised by the Fascist Grand Council (around 30 members) alone and this totalitarian system forced natural career growth out because everyone was encouraged to fight for power. This provoked constant infighting, disputes and heavy corruption at all administrative levels causing great incompetence among the ranks of government officials. This is evident in the fact that Fascist party membership was compulsory for any kind of government