What would the development of Italy and Facism have been with Mussolini dead?

Hi All,

This is my first post here, and I hope that I am posting in the right forum. If not, I can only trust to the patience of the Moderators, and hope they move it to the correct forum.

Anyway, I was wondering how Fascism (and Italy under the Fascists) would have turned out with Big, Bad, Bald, Benito Bill taken out in one of the assassination attempts against him in the 20s? Would Fascist ideology have allowed for rule by the Fascist Grand Council, or would someone have come to the fore in his stead? What would have been the effect on Italian internal and external affairs?

I look forward to any responses,
Merry Christmas (for it is the season after all) and happy New Year,
Amartus

PS: My Apologies for mis-spelling 'Fascist' in my title. A
 
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Thanks for the welcome.

Oh, and *bump* - I am very keen to know what you might think of this - that is 'you' plural, not 'you' singular btw. I can also be a little more specific - according to wiki, there were 2 assassination attempts against Mussolini in 1926 - one on the 26th of April, and one on the 31st of October. These seem to be the major ones. So Mussolini is killed, what then happens next? Would Fascism survive, or would it wither away? If it did survive, would it be under a group of leaders - the Fascist Grand Council (and my personal choice) - or would one of Mussolini's Lietenants come to take charge? Did Fascism demand a 'Great Individual' to lead it, or could it accept a group rather than one? And what might Italy's subsequent experiences, both internally and externally, have been either way?

Still looking forward to any responses,
Yours gratefully,
Amartus

PS Does anyone know about changing the spelling of my thread title? It cannot be edited, and Ian the Admin has not replied to my PM - should I try one of the moderators instead? A
 
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After the fall of Mussolini and a transitional period were the king would appoint a prime minister and give him dictatorial powers (this would last les than a year) Italy would return to be a constitutional monarchy with elections held probably every 1 year or so with about a dozen political parties (the fascist being one of them) and probably one of the most unstable political country’s in the world. I don’t see Italy conducting any major war operations but just holding on to its small empire
 
That is a pain! I want Mussolini out of the way, not Italy incapacitated! No chance of someone else coming to replace him?
 
Hi and welcome,



It is an interesting POD you make and also a difficult one for there aren’t that many knowledgeable people around (of Italian Fascism).

I think fascism was many things to many people. Mussolini also made many conflicting claims about his goals and as a political system was riveted by internal inconsistencies. Mostly, IMO it was about strong leadership, a return to a modicum of efficiency under the guise of a return to glory and assuming Italy’s rightful place in the world. As such, it has a basis in nationalism and economic reforms.

The council taking over would not have worked. Italian politicians are not good at working together (or working at all). There would have been too many people with conflicting interests on the council to make that work. It would just have been another weak Italianate government under a new name.

It would take a another strong leader, like Marshal Balbo, to get it to make any kind of impression over the other Italian parties. If such a strong leader emerged, it is likely that Italy would have been better of. In an age of Hitler and Tojo, it is hard to find more incompetent leaders but Mussolini managed this feat. He probably is the most irresponsible nitwit to ever have had his hands on the levers of state without any checks and balances.

His political assessments and policy choices were invariably wrong and his decision to assume practically every ministry in the government meant that seldom a war was fought in such a haphazard way. Fashioning one such a monumental idiot is the work of ages. Any other leader would have to be better, simply based on statistical chance.

What would such a leader have done in those trying times?

There were many flashpoints and Italian interests during the crucial late 1920s and 1930s:

Austria
Spain
Yugoslavia/Balkans
The emergence of Germany


Eventually, there would be 3 choices; allying with France/Britain or with Germany or stay neutral and get the best deal.

Initally, Italy leaned towards the former. Western weakness led Mussolini to favor Germany instead. A more shrewd leader might have played his cards closer to his chest and waited what for deals a powerful neutral could gain. Much like Italy did in WWI.
 
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