'Biennio Rosso' 1919-1920 (Two Red Years)

'Biennio Nero' 1921-1922
1. Ended in Mussolini becoming Prime Minister in October 1922
  1. March on Rome to celebrate this - 29th October 1922
2. Mussolini used the fact that Giolitti didn't act against strikes as a sign that the Liberals were weak
3. Mussolini uses the 'Biennio Rosso' as evidence that Socialism is a threat
  1. Therefore gains support from businesses and landowners
Socialist party (PSI) won 156 seats in the 1919 election
September 1920 - a wave of strikes in the northern industrial cities scare the industrialists
1. The government is pressured to stop these strikes
  1. Giolitti (Liberal Prime Minister) did nothing
    1. Employers and conservatives never forgave Giolitti for not acting, despite the fact that the protests died out after a month
2. The workers started making weapons in the factories to fight
In the countryside landowners complained about the Socialist threat to the government
1. Socialist Land Leagues were set up in Tuscany, Po Valley and Emilia. They demanded higher wages for farm workers and threatened landowners with strike action and even violence
  1. Socialists took control of managing farm labour
    1. 1920 local elections - Socialists win 26/69 provinces in north and central Italy
      1. In Emilia they control 80% of local councils

Resource summary

	Created by Eva Clifton about 10 years ago