The weaknesses of the Italian liberal regime 1870-1914 The creation of liberal Italy in 1870 after the merging of each separate state lead to many political, social and economic issues which lasted and were subsequently added to until the breakdown of liberalism itself. By focusing on issues created by unification itself as well as problems that existed before the creation of the liberal government this essay will outline the main weaknesses of the Italian liberal regime 1870-1914. Firstly, economic problems were one of the main weaknesses of the Italian liberal regime 1870-1914. The state of Italy’s economy pre 1870 was poor; this only proceeded to worsen after unification itself, as the cost of this large scale project brought with it huge debts as well as little or no solutions to pre existing problems. The fact that Italy had a very limited industry and lack of an efficient infrastructure also meant that hardly any money was being created to pump into the economy to keep it running or pay for these debts.
The extent of unity within Italy varied immensely between 1896 and 1914, for example in the late 1890’s the North-South divide was undeniable and acted as the socio-economic and political split that separated the country entirely and questioned any possible solidarity within Italy. Unfortunately Italy’s government was equally unstable during this time which is evident as she had 20 different Prime Ministers leading the country between 1896 and 1914; this suggested that no successful decisions could be made. Although, in 1903 this changed with the introduction of Giovanni Giolitti who brought in many reforms that made the Liberal institutions far more secure through changes such as the introduction of real wages which in turn boosted the economy. Personally, I feel that despite Italy’s political and economic growth between 1896 and 1914 the extent of the unification remained questionable, therefore in the following essay I will be examining the key features of this time period to come to a reliable conclusion. Italy was not a democracy in 1896 so the right to vote was held only by the rich due to the parliament being dominated by wealthy landowners, businessmen and professional classes; this resulted in the masses having no say in the Italian government and suggested a low level of equality which consequently led to mass levels of unrest.
However, in reality it made it hard for Italy to sell abroad (due to the higher prices), so Italy lost its competitiveness on the world market. In addition, serious deflation took place and by 1936 the government was forced to devalue the Lira. To summarise, the reform was a failure as – although in the short run, Italy seemed powerful, in the long run the economy suffered. The battle for the Lira was a propaganda victory in which Mussolini successfully confirmed the image that the fascists were bringing stability and prosper to Italy, without actually doing so. Mussolini also had two other battles; that for
How Far Does the North South Divide in Italy Explain the Weakness of the Liberal State in 1896-1914 (30 marks) Italy was fully unified in 1870 this was just 40 years before the first world war. The Liberal State governing it was weak for a number of reason such as several opposition groups, the North South and problems from the unification. However the most important reason was the political system itself and the actions of the liberals including the foreign policy and corruption. At the time Italy used a proportional representation (PR) voting system. This meant that every vote counted and the parliament was proportional to them.
“How far does the North-South divide in Italy explain the weaknesses of the Liberal State in the years 1896-1914?” (30 mark) The North-South divide was a main factor in the years 1896-1914 that weakened the Liberal State however there are also other reasons that should be taken into consideration. For example the growth of hostile groups, Italy’s capitalist development and the strength of nationalist feelings. The identity of Italy was a main reason for why the liberal state was weak. This is due to the fact the North and South had many differences. For example the unification of Italy caused tension as the north and south were two different cultures.
In 1914, Italy had been made at risk of being undermined by the mounting problems that Italy was facing. Divisions between the North and the South of Italy and its many local regions were widening. The Liberal government was facing increasing opposition from both the Left and the Right, who aimed to take advantage of the fact that the Liberal’s could not even decide on issues between themselves, and accompanied by a weak industrial and economical situation, security looked a long way off for Italy. 1914 was a manageable, but exhausting time for Liberal Italy. There was a massive divide in the North from the South.
Compassionate reasons where one of the underlying reasons many historians argue upon the realise of the report on poverty from booth and rowntree in their study of the English town York , a town not normally associated with extreme poverty they found 29% of the population were well below the poverty line. Another reason was the very real fear workers were discouraged by the poor conditions and governments and may later turn against the government and form mass strikes or in serious cases rebellion or join the communist groups within Britain. Political self interest was high on the liberal’s agenda many historians argue. The franchise was being extended to the average man slowly and the liberals realised the average man did not benefit much from the government’s approach to peoples life’s and with the rise of the labour party and other parties many historians argue that it was out of desire to be re-elected that the liberals slowly brought about this change in reform. They didn’t get a majority government in 1910 like they did in 1906 which led them to think that social reform was the way to gain votes.
(Robson, 1992)” However, reviewing the economical, social and political issues this was not to be. After the Unification of Italy in 1870, despite some modernisation occurring, the country still fell behind the other major powers of Europe. The state of the Italian economy was a major problem facing the new Kingdom. It was in huge debt that it had inherited from the states that had been unified to make Italy. The Liberal’s did nothing to make it look like they would attempt to transform the economy, which remained backward and unprepared for World War 1.
“To what extent was the unification of Italy due to the weakness of Austria?” Throughout Europe between 1815 and 1848 swept feelings of nationalism and a desire for unification, including the states collectively known as Italy. This lack of identity was underlined when Count Metternich said “Italy is just a geographical expression.” Nationalism promoted the belief in one language, one culture and the pride in one’s identity. Before unification, life in Italy was frustrating for those who wanted unification. The North and the South states were economically different; the pope influenced the central states. Nevertheless, the process began from 1861 and by 1871 boundaries had been settled.
Summarise and discuss the economic policies of Fascist Italy? When Benito Mussolini came to power as Prime Minister in 1922, Italy’s economy was comparatively weak, having failed to recover sufficiently from the financial demands of the First World War. Mussolini realised that strengthening the economy was essential if Italy was to become a key player in Europe. A number of economic policies were implemented in an attempt to achieve this end. This essay will seek to examine these policies and their varying successes or failures.