Dissatisfaction with the treaties after WWI - Italy had lost 700.000 men and 1 million men were wounded. After the war Italy therefore made extensive claims. They received South Tyrol , Istria and Trieste . They also claimed but did not receive Dalmatia , several Aegean islands and the town of Fiume . This made Italians frustrated and was used in the propaganda of the nationalists. The exservicemen became an important ingredient in the fascist combat groups

Dissatisfaction with the economic situation - 3 million men were de-mobilized after the war. This led to widespread unemployment - By November 1919 Italy had 2 million unemployed. This together with the poverty in the south (especially among the landless peasants) and a huge inflation led to a very tense situation. (The inflation was 560% between 1914 and 1921…)

General disorder - strikes and factory occupations - In 1920 over 2000 strikes occurred (280 in Milan in 1919). Many of the wealthy landowners and industrialists feared a Bolshevik style take-over. In the south peasants began to seize land. They were ready to turn to someone that could bring order…

Political instability - In 1919 Italy introduced a proportional system in the parliament. This didn’t seem to change the political instability. Without a political tradition no party would gain an absolute majority. So the coalitions between different parties continued (and the quarrels continued). Italy had five different governments between 1919-1922.

Fiume incident (or ”Christmas of Blood”) - The writer and war-hero D’Annunzio (together with 2600 legionaries) occupied the town of Fiume in September 1919. They transferred it into a city-state and established an authoritarian government. There wasn’t any reaction from the Italian government until December 1920 when regular troops attacked and seized the city. The public saw the late reaction as a ”weakness” of the government and when they finally did something the action was viewed as ”unpatriotic”. (In the Treaty of Rapallo 1922 Fiume became an international city. In 1924 it was acquired by Italy in agreement with Yugoslavia ).

Electoral alliance - In 1921 the Prime Minister - liberal Giovanni Giolitti called for new elections. Under the impression of the growing support of the fascists Giolitti accepted Mussolini’s offer of an electoral pact. As part of a government alliance the fascists won 35 parliamentary seats in the elections (in a parliament of 535). This was a small start but it gave Mussolini ”a new authority, and respectability and a valuable freedom from arrest”. (Denis Mack Smith). Noticeable is that the socialists won 122 seats, the Catholic People’s Party 107 seats and the small Communist Party 16 seats.

The ”General Strike” of August 1922 - The crisis in Italian politics continued to work at the advantage of the fascists. The ”Squadristi” were very ”active” against the socialists in the general strike of August 1922. The strike was badly organized and ill-led and it collapsed within 24 hours. Though the fascists got the credit for ”saving” the country. The ”Squadristi” continued the struggle against the socialists. By October they had burnt down 500 workers’ meeting places and broken up about 900 meetings (esp. in Milan and Bologna )