Italy’s post-First World War years were marked by severe economic hardship, intense social conflict, political upheaval, and the emergence of radical parties vying for power.
Economic Challenges After the War
Inflation and Currency Devaluation
After 1918, Italy faced crippling inflation caused by excessive wartime borrowing and spending. The government had massively increased the money supply to fund the war effort, but without sufficient industrial output to match, prices soared:
The cost of living rose dramatically, eroding the real wages of urban workers.
Savings lost value overnight, hitting the middle classes especially hard.
The lira depreciated significantly against foreign currencies, making imports more expensive and worsening trade imbalances.
Unemployment and Demobilisation
Returning soldiers flooded the job market, creating intense competition for limited employment opportunities:
Approximately 5 million men were demobilised, placing sudden pressure on the fragile economy.
Many factories, having overproduced during wartime, struggled to adjust to peacetime demand, leading to layoffs and closures.
Joblessness hit both urban industrial workers and rural labourers who found land reform promises unfulfilled.
Food Shortages and Economic Discontent
Food production had declined during the war due to conscription and disruption in agriculture:
Grain shortages continued into the post-war years, resulting in bread queues and rationing in some areas.
Rural peasants faced high rents and low wages, while urban consumers grappled with high food prices.
Black market activity flourished as people struggled to feed their families, fuelling resentment towards the government’s perceived inefficiency.
Social Tensions and the Biennio Rosso
Rise of Industrial Unrest
Economic hardship bred radicalisation among the working classes, leading to the so-called Biennio Rosso (‘Two Red Years’) from 1919 to 1920:
Strikes and factory occupations became widespread, especially in industrial centres like Turin and Milan.
Workers, inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917, formed factory councils to manage production themselves, challenging capitalist owners.
Employers and the state were alarmed by this self-management movement, seeing it as a threat of Bolshevik-style revolution.
Rural Unrest and Peasant Movements
Unrest was not confined to cities; the countryside witnessed its own upheaval:
Landless peasants and returning veterans demanded land redistribution, often seizing estates illegally.
In many southern and central regions, peasant leagues occupied large estates to force landlords to negotiate.
These actions revealed deep-rooted anger over centuries of rural inequality and unfulfilled government promises of agrarian reform.
Violent Clashes and Class Polarisation
The growing divide between workers and employers, peasants and landlords, fuelled street violence:
Clashes between socialist militias and conservative landowners' private armies became common.
Employers began to fund and organise groups to break strikes and intimidate unionists.
This cycle of violence would soon feed into the appeal of paramilitary fascist squads.
Political Instability and Government Fragmentation
Weak Liberal Governments
The Liberal political system, already fragile before the war, struggled to respond effectively to the crisis:
Frequent changes in government undermined stability; between 1919 and 1922, Italy saw multiple short-lived cabinets.
Prime Ministers failed to secure solid parliamentary majorities due to the fragmented nature of the Chamber of Deputies.
Public confidence in the Liberal ruling elite eroded, with accusations that they were out of touch and incapable of dealing with Italy’s problems.
New Proportional Representation
In 1919, electoral reforms introduced proportional representation, which led to:
A more fragmented parliament with a wider range of parties and ideologies.
Increased influence of radical parties on both the left and right.
Difficulty in forming coherent coalitions, making decisive governance almost impossible.
Public Disillusionment
Ordinary Italians, disillusioned with broken promises of post-war prosperity and land reform, turned away from traditional Liberal politicians:
Veterans’ groups felt betrayed by the ‘Mutilated Victory’ and the lack of adequate reintegration support.
Workers and peasants saw Liberals as protectors of industrialists and landlords.
Many middle-class Italians feared social revolution and looked for new political movements that promised order and national strength.
The Rise of Radical Parties
The Socialist Party (PSI)
The Partito Socialista Italiano (PSI) emerged as the dominant left-wing force during this period:
It gained huge electoral success in the 1919 general election, becoming the largest party in parliament.
The PSI was divided between reformists, who wanted change through parliamentary means, and maximalists, who advocated for revolution.
Its radical rhetoric and support for strikes alarmed conservatives and the middle classes, who associated socialism with Bolshevism.
The Popolari (Catholic Centre-Right)
A significant new force was the Partito Popolare Italiano (PPI), founded by Don Luigi Sturzo in 1919:
Backed by the Catholic Church, it represented rural interests, small landowners, and the devout middle class.
The PPI campaigned for social welfare reforms, protection of family values, and the promotion of Catholic education.
It provided a moderate alternative to socialism, drawing many conservative and centrist voters.
The Emergence of the Fascist Movement
Perhaps the most consequential development was the birth of the Fascist movement, led by Benito Mussolini:
Mussolini, a former socialist turned nationalist, founded the Fasci di Combattimento in 1919.
Initially, the Fascist programme was vague, combining elements of nationalism, anti-socialism, and promises of strong leadership.
Early Fascist groups were small and disorganised but found support among war veterans, disaffected youths, and landowners threatened by socialist and peasant militancy.
Fascist squads engaged in violent confrontations with socialists and strikers, positioning themselves as defenders of order and property.
Between 1919 and 1921, Italy experienced profound social and political volatility:
The economic difficulties of inflation, unemployment, and food shortages created fertile ground for radical ideas.
Industrial and rural unrest polarised society, undermining confidence in the Liberal regime.
Fragmentation of the political system and the rise of radical parties, including the socialists, the Popolari, and the Fascists, set the stage for the eventual breakdown of parliamentary democracy and the rise of Mussolini’s Fascist dictatorship.
FAQ
Returning soldiers had a profound impact on Italy’s social and political scene between 1919 and 1921. Many veterans felt betrayed by the so-called ‘Mutilated Victory’ and the lack of substantial post-war rewards, such as land or secure employment. Disillusioned and often struggling financially, they formed influential pressure groups demanding compensation and national recognition. Some gravitated towards radical nationalism, blaming the Liberal government for Italy’s perceived humiliation at the peace settlement. Others, particularly those from rural backgrounds, joined land occupations or peasant leagues to push for agrarian reform. Importantly, large numbers of disgruntled veterans were recruited by emerging Fascist squads. Their military discipline and willingness to use violence made them effective in breaking strikes and intimidating socialists. This paramilitary presence on the streets heightened political tension and created an atmosphere of fear and conflict. Thus, demobilised soldiers acted as a catalyst for instability, bolstering both nationalist and fascist causes while fuelling a general sense of post-war bitterness and alienation.
Factory owners and industrialists faced escalating threats from widespread strikes, factory occupations, and militant trade union actions during the Biennio Rosso. With the Socialist Party’s growing influence and workers inspired by Bolshevik ideas, employers feared losing control over production and private property. The Liberal government appeared weak and unable to guarantee security or effectively suppress radical labour movements. Seeking protection and a return to stability, industrialists began covertly funding Fascist squads, who offered direct, forceful action to break strikes and dismantle worker councils. This relationship was mutually beneficial: Fascists gained financial backing, weapons, and logistical support, while employers relied on blackshirt violence to restore productivity and deter further industrial unrest. By providing resources and political cover to Mussolini’s movement, big business played a critical role in legitimising Fascist violence as a tool for ‘restoring order’. This support undermined legal institutions and demonstrated how economic elites willingly compromised democracy to safeguard profits and private interests.
Rural landowners were deeply alarmed by the surge in peasant unrest and illegal land occupations that swept through Italy’s countryside after the First World War. Large estates in the south and centre were particularly targeted by landless labourers and returning veterans demanding promised reforms that had not materialised. Many landowners, finding the Liberal authorities slow or reluctant to intervene decisively, organised their own private security forces or funded local militias to evict squatters and protect property. In regions like Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, conservative farmers and agrarian elites actively supported the nascent Fascist squads, seeing them as a more reliable force to counter socialist-inspired peasant leagues. The blackshirts’ brutal tactics, including beatings and arson, proved effective in crushing occupations and intimidating rural trade unions. Thus, landowners’ alliance with the Fascists mirrored that of industrialists: they were willing to tolerate or encourage extra-legal violence to reassert traditional authority, maintain their landholdings, and quash radical rural movements threatening the agrarian status quo.
The press and propaganda were vital in shaping Italian public opinion during the post-war crisis. Newspapers, pamphlets, and political posters amplified fears of socialist revolution and painted striking workers and peasant leagues as Bolshevik threats intent on dismantling traditional Italian society. Right-wing newspapers exaggerated incidents of violence and factory occupations to sway the urban middle classes and small business owners against left-wing unions and parties. Meanwhile, socialist publications glorified workers’ councils and framed industrial action as legitimate resistance against capitalist exploitation. The emerging Fascist movement skilfully used propaganda to portray blackshirts as patriotic defenders of order, promising to restore national pride and security in the face of chaos. Mussolini himself, as a former journalist, understood the power of controlling the narrative, publishing the Fascist newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia to spread anti-socialist and nationalist rhetoric. The intense propaganda battles radicalised public attitudes, turning many moderates towards extremist solutions and further delegitimising the weakened Liberal state.
The Catholic Church played an important and strategic role during Italy’s turbulent post-war years. Alarmed by socialism’s secular, anti-clerical ideas and the potential erosion of traditional family and religious values, the Church threw its support behind the newly formed Partito Popolare Italiano (PPI). Led by the priest Don Luigi Sturzo, the PPI aimed to offer a Catholic-centred alternative that championed social reform, rural interests, and moral order. Bishops and parish priests encouraged congregations to vote for the Popolari, countering the influence of socialist propaganda in working-class and peasant communities. At the same time, the Vatican remained cautious about directly endorsing the increasingly violent Fascist squads but quietly appreciated their anti-socialist stance. The Church also continued to lobby the government for concessions on Catholic education and influence in public life. By mobilising religious networks and providing an electoral base for the Popolari, the Church both protected its own authority and contributed to the further fragmentation of the Liberal political system.
Practice Questions
Explain why the post-war economic difficulties in Italy contributed to political instability between 1919 and 1921.
Italy’s post-war economic difficulties, including rampant inflation, unemployment, and food shortages, deeply undermined trust in the Liberal government. Demobilised soldiers flooded the job market, intensifying competition and causing widespread discontent. Soaring living costs and eroded wages radicalised workers, leading to strikes and factory occupations. Rural peasants, frustrated by unfulfilled land reform promises, seized estates, fuelling social tension. These economic grievances fragmented politics, empowering radical parties like the PSI and Popolari, while creating fertile ground for Fascist violence. Overall, economic crisis directly destabilised traditional politics and encouraged extremist solutions promising order and national revival.
How significant was the rise of radical parties in undermining the Liberal state between 1919 and 1921?
The rise of radical parties was highly significant in destabilising Italy’s fragile Liberal state. The PSI’s electoral surge empowered striking workers and emboldened calls for revolution, alarming the middle classes and elites. The Popolari mobilised Catholics who previously felt alienated by the secular Liberal regime, further eroding its support base. Most crucially, the Fascist movement exploited fear of socialism and peasant unrest, using violence to intimidate opponents and present themselves as saviours of order. These radical parties fractured parliament, paralysed decision-making, and discredited Liberal authority, paving the way for Mussolini’s ultimate seizure of power.
