Italian general election, 1924

Italian general election, 1924

6 April 1924

All 535 seats to the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Benito Mussolini Alcide De Gasperi Giacomo Matteotti Party Fascist Party People's Party United Socialist Party Seats won 374 39 24 Seat change new party 69 new party Popular vote 4,653,488 645,789 422,957 Percentage 64.9% 9.0% 5.9% Swing new party 11.4% new party

Prime Minister before election Benito Mussolini Fascist Party Elected Prime Minister Benito Mussolini Fascist Party

General elections were held in Italy on 6 April 1924.^[1] They were held under the Acerbo Law, which stated that the party with the largest share of the votes would automatically receive two-thirds of the seats in Parliament as long as they received over 25% of the vote.^[2] The National List of Benito Mussolini (an alliance with Liberals and Conservatives) used intimidation tactics,^[2] resulting in a landslide victory and a subsequent two-thirds majority.

This was the last free election in Italy until 1946.

Electoral system

In November 1923 the Parliament approved the Acerbo Law, which stated that the party gaining the largest share of the votes – provided they had gained at least 25 percent of the votes – gained two-thirds of the seats in parliament. The remaining third was shared amongst the other parties proportionally.^[3]

Historical background

On 22 October 1922 the young leader of the National Fascist Party, Benito Mussolini, attempted a coup d'état which was titled by the Fascist propaganda, the March on Rome, in which took part almost 30,000 fascists. The quadrumvirs leading the Fascist Party, General Emilio De Bono, Italo Balbo (one of the most famous ras), Michele Bianchi and Cesare Maria de Vecchi, organized the March while the Duce stayed behind for most of the march, though he allowed pictures to be taken of him marching along with the Fascist marchers. Generals Gustavo Fara and Sante Ceccherini assisted to the preparations of the March of 18 October. Other organizers of the march included the Marquis Dino Perrone Compagni and Ulisse Igliori.

On 24 October 1922, Mussolini declared before 60,000 people at the Fascist Congress in Naples: "Our program is simple: we want to rule Italy."^[4] Blackshirts occupied some strategic points of the country and began to move on the capital. On 26 October, former prime minister Antonio Salandra warned current Prime Minister Luigi Facta that Mussolini was demanding his resignation and that he was preparing to march on Rome. However, Facta did not believe Salandra and thought that Mussolini would govern quietly at his side. To meet the threat posed by the bands of fascist troops now gathering outside Rome, Luigi Facta (who had resigned but continued to hold power) ordered a state of siege for Rome. Having had previous conversations with the king about the repression of fascist violence, he was sure the king would agree.^[5] However, King Victor Emmanuel III refused to sign the military order.^[6] On 28 October, the King handed power to Mussolini, who was supported by the military, the business class, and the right-wing.

Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome.

The march itself was composed of fewer than 30,000 men, but the king feared a civil war, did not consider strong enough previous government while Fascism was no longer seen as a threat to the establishment. Mussolini was asked to form his cabinet on 29 October 1922, while some 25,000 Blackshirts were parading in Rome. Mussolini thus legally reached power, in accordance with the Statuto Albertino, the Italian Constitution. The March on Rome was not the conquest of power which Fascism later celebrated but rather the precipitating force behind a transfer of power within the framework of the constitution. This transition was made possible by the surrender of public authorities in the face of fascist intimidation. Many business and financial leaders believed it would be possible to manipulate Mussolini, whose early speeches and policies emphasized free market and laissez faire economics.^[7] This proved overly optimistic, as Mussolini's corporatist view stressed total state power over businesses as much as over individuals, via governing industry bodies ("corporations") controlled by the Fascist party, a model in which businesses retained the responsibilities of property, but few if any of the freedoms.

Even though the coup failed in giving power directly to the Fascist Party, it nonetheless resulted in a parallel agreement between Mussolini and King Victor Emmanuel III that made Mussolini the head of the Italian government

A few weeks after the election, the leader of the United Socialist Party, Giacomo Matteotti, requested, during his speech in front of the Parliament, that the elections be annulled because of the irregularities.^[8]

Postcard promoted by the fascist propaganda.

But after a few days, on June 10 Matteotti was assassinated by Fascist Blackshirts and his murder provoked a momentary crisis in the Mussolini government. Mussolini ordered a cover-up, but witnesses saw the car that transported Matteotti's body parked outside Matteotti's residence, which linked Amerigo Dumini, a fascist prominent in Mussolini's personal escort, to the murder.

Mussolini later confessed that a few resolute men could have altered public opinion and started a coup that would have swept fascism away. Dumini was imprisoned for two years. On his release Dumini allegedly told other people that Mussolini was responsible, for which he served further prison time.

The opposition parties responded weakly or were generally unresponsive. Many of the socialists, liberals, and moderates boycotted Parliament in the Aventine Secession, hoping to force Victor Emmanuel to dismiss Mussolini.

On 31 December 1924, Blackshirt leader smet with Mussolini and gave him an ultimatum—crush the opposition or they would do so without him. Fearing a revolt by his own militants, Mussolini decided to drop all trappings of democracy.^[9]

On 3 January 1925, Mussolini made a truculent speech before the Chamber in which he took responsibility for squadristi violence (though he did not mention the assassination of Matteotti).^[10] This speech usually is taken as the beginning of the fascist dictatorship because it was followed by several laws restricting or canceling common democratic liberties, voted by the Parliament filled by two thirds of Fascists because of the Acerbo Law.

Parties and leaders

Results

← Summary of the 6 April 1924 Chamber of Deputies election results →

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	National List	4,305,936	60.09	355	+250
	Italian People's Party	645,789	9.01	39	−69
	United Socialist Party	422,957	5.90	24	New
	Italian Socialist Party	360,694	5.03	22	−101
	National List bis	347,552	4.85	19	New
	Communist Party of Italy	268,191	3.74	19	+4
	Italian Liberal Party	233,521	3.27	15	−28
	Democratic Liberal Party	157,932	2.20	14	−54
	Italian Republican Party	133,714	1.87	7	+1
	Italian Social Democratic Party	111,035	1.55	10	−19
	Party of Italian Peasants	73,569	1.03	4	New
	Slavs and Germans	62,491	0.87	4	−5
	Sardinian Action Party	24,059	0.34	2	New
	Dissident Fascists	18,062	0.25	1	New
Invalid/blank votes		448,949	–	–	–
Total		7,614,451	100	535	±0
Registered voters/turnout		11,939,452	63.8	–	–

Results by Region

References

Elections and referendums in Italy
General elections	1861 1865 1867 1870 1874 1876 1880 1882 1886 1890 1892 1895 1897 1900 1904 1909 1913 1919 1921 1924 1929 1934 1946 1948 1953 1958 1963 1968 1972 1976 1979 1983 1987 1992 1994 1996 2001 2006 2008 2013 next
European elections	1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014
Regional elections	1947 1949 1951 1953 1954 1955 1957 1959 1961 1963 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1981 1983 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Local elections	1946 1951 1956 1960 1964 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Referendums	1946 1974 1978 1981 1985 1987 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2000 2001 2003 2005 2006 2009 2011 2016 (Apr) 2016 (Dec)
See also: Elections in Abruzzo Aosta Valley Apulia Basilicata Calabria Campania Emilia-Romagna Friuli-Venezia Giulia Lazio Liguria Lombardy Marche Molise Piedmont Sardinia Sicily Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Tuscany Umbria Veneto