January 3 In History: Benito Mussolini Declares Himself As Italian Dictator

Benito Mussolini 1940. (Agfacolor photo by Roger Viollet/Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Similar to Adolf Hitler, Italy's fascist leader, Benito Mussolini did not become the dictator of a totalitarian regime overnight. For several years, he and his allies worked within the confines of the constitution to gain power, eroding democratic institutions, until the time came to get rid of them all.

That moment then came when Mussolini gave his speech on January 3, 1925, today 96 years ago. As quoted from the History page, at that time Mussolini asserted that he was entitled to supreme power and had effectively become the dictator of Italy.

Mussolini was a school teacher and a respected socialist, but after World War I he became a leader of a nascent fascist movement. Like much of Europe, Italy experienced social turmoil after the war.

Paramilitary groups with street gangs often clash over their visions and compete for a new political order. One of the reformers was a close confidant of Mussolini. He formed a fascist paramilitary group, known as the Blackshirts or Squadristi.

When Mussolini led a political party, they discovered that the government's fear of a communist revolution allowed them to operate without state interference. And in 1921, Mussolini's career began to take off. At that time he was elected to parliament as leader of the growing National Fascist Party.

After Mussolini was elected, armed Blackshirts marched on Rome demanding the king install Mussolini as Prime Minister. The decision of King Victor Emmanuel III completely changed the course of Italian and European history.

The king ignored Prime Minister Luigi Facta's plea for King Victor to declare martial law at Mussolini's threat. After that Facta resigned from office, and Mussolini was invited to the Palace to form a new government.

Mussolini's victory made the Fascists and their allies scramble the Italian democratic constitution. He was proclaimed dictator for a year. In addition, Mussolini also increasingly combined his party and paramilitary wing with the state and made it the official military.

Mussoloni also carried out a privatization program and enacted anti-union laws. He did this to convince businessmen and aristocrats that fascism would protect them from socialism.

Become a Dictator

Despite these reforms, many Fascists felt Mussolini was moving too slowly. In 1924, people connected to Mussolini murdered the socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti. This led to a large part of the parliamentary opposition boycotting Mussolini's legislature.

The fascists felt that calamity was coming. On December 31, they issued an ultimatum to Mussolini.

Three days later, Mussolini addressed parliament, declaring: "I, and myself, bear political, moral and historical responsibility for all that has happened." The speech indirectly referred to the Matteotti murder case.

Mussolini then challenged the prosecutors and other Italian democratic institutions, as well as the king, to challenge his authority. And no one else did.

Therefore, from 1925 onwards, Mussolini actually became a dictator openly. He then merged the country with the Fascist Party.

Mussolini's Tragic End

Two decades later his reign was filled with oppression and brutality. This culminated in Mussolini's alliance with Nazi Germany and the Second World War.

During the Second World War, Nazi Germany's coalition with Mussolini's fascist regime was known as the Axis Front, which was rampant in Europe and North Africa. However, since winning the war in North Africa, the Allied forces led by the US and UK managed to shake up Italy.

On the other hand, Mussolini's fascist regime also met with resistance from leftist partisans. They wanted to try Mussolini as a war criminal. Thus, Mussolini and his followers had no choice but to flee Italy.

However, the attempt to escape Mussolini and his followers failed. Partisan fighters caught them and shot them dead on the spot. By truck, the bodies of Mussolini and his followers were taken to Milan and hung upside down for display to the public.