History Italy and Fascism Essay
‘Giolitti failed successfully to tackle the problems facing Liberal Italy
between 1900 and 1914.’ Assess the validity of this statement.
When Giovanni Giolitti took office as Prime Minister in the 1900s, he was handed
the difficult task of stabilising the Italian Liberal Government after the political
instability within the Chamber of Deputies and the social disorder of the working
class mass unrest in the 1890s. The new monarch Victor Emmanuel III, who
replaced the assassinated King Umberto I, appointed Giolitti in hopes of bringing
peace to Liberal Italy. To achieve this peace, Giolitti’s main aim as Prime Minister
was to gain the support of all political groups which opposed or rivalled the
power of the Liberal Government, which was massively unpopular in 1900, due
to its contributions to the North-South geological and economic divide, lack of
success in foreign policy and was not responsive to the concerns of the working
class, as the vote was restricted to literate men. These political groups were the
Catholics, Socialists and the Nationalists. However, due to their opposite political
views and priorities, it was virtually impossible for Giolitti to gain all their
support. Thus, despite Giolitti’s many achievements in social reform and
economic development, he was a controversial figure in the eyes of many, due to
his attempt to appease each party, such as the resentment of Socialists after his
foreign policy declaring war against Turkey in Libya in 1911 to 1912. Even though
it is indisputable that Giolitti failed in tackling the problems facing Liberal Italy in
terms of gaining support for the Liberal Government and was also unsuccessful
in tackling social disrupt and the upset of the masses, being the working class,
nonetheless, Giovanni Giolitti was successful in improving Italy’s economic and
social situation.
Giolitti’s social policy was an achievement on its own as it improved the lives of
the ordinary Italian people, although it was also a partial failure as it pleased only
the Mild Socialists and not the Nationalists or extreme Socialists. In the 1890s,
there was major discontent across Italy’s working class. Riots and strikes
throughout the country had to be repressed by the army due to their large
scales. There was a particular hatred aimed at the Liberal Government due to the
leader of the military General Bava Beccaris was awarded the highest military
honour ‘Cross of Savoy’ by the previous monarch King Umberto. Giolitti aimed to
resolve the anger through Socialist reforms aimed to quieten the working class
by improving working conditions, such as introducing supervised factory
conditions, a compulsory weekly rest day in 1907 and in 1910, a maternity fund
‘Giolitti failed successfully to tackle the problems facing Liberal Italy
between 1900 and 1914.’ Assess the validity of this statement.
When Giovanni Giolitti took office as Prime Minister in the 1900s, he was handed
the difficult task of stabilising the Italian Liberal Government after the political
instability within the Chamber of Deputies and the social disorder of the working
class mass unrest in the 1890s. The new monarch Victor Emmanuel III, who
replaced the assassinated King Umberto I, appointed Giolitti in hopes of bringing
peace to Liberal Italy. To achieve this peace, Giolitti’s main aim as Prime Minister
was to gain the support of all political groups which opposed or rivalled the
power of the Liberal Government, which was massively unpopular in 1900, due
to its contributions to the North-South geological and economic divide, lack of
success in foreign policy and was not responsive to the concerns of the working
class, as the vote was restricted to literate men. These political groups were the
Catholics, Socialists and the Nationalists. However, due to their opposite political
views and priorities, it was virtually impossible for Giolitti to gain all their
support. Thus, despite Giolitti’s many achievements in social reform and
economic development, he was a controversial figure in the eyes of many, due to
his attempt to appease each party, such as the resentment of Socialists after his
foreign policy declaring war against Turkey in Libya in 1911 to 1912. Even though
it is indisputable that Giolitti failed in tackling the problems facing Liberal Italy in
terms of gaining support for the Liberal Government and was also unsuccessful
in tackling social disrupt and the upset of the masses, being the working class,
nonetheless, Giovanni Giolitti was successful in improving Italy’s economic and
social situation.
Giolitti’s social policy was an achievement on its own as it improved the lives of
the ordinary Italian people, although it was also a partial failure as it pleased only
the Mild Socialists and not the Nationalists or extreme Socialists. In the 1890s,
there was major discontent across Italy’s working class. Riots and strikes
throughout the country had to be repressed by the army due to their large
scales. There was a particular hatred aimed at the Liberal Government due to the
leader of the military General Bava Beccaris was awarded the highest military
honour ‘Cross of Savoy’ by the previous monarch King Umberto. Giolitti aimed to
resolve the anger through Socialist reforms aimed to quieten the working class
by improving working conditions, such as introducing supervised factory
conditions, a compulsory weekly rest day in 1907 and in 1910, a maternity fund
