Rome, 9 November (LaPresse) – ‘A refresher course for those who studied history in the PD textbooks.’ This is how a post by MEP and deputy secretary of the Lega party Roberto Vannacci begins, in which he writes that "on 15 May 1921, Benito Mussolini was elected to Parliament with the Italian Combat Groups. He was the third most voted deputy in Italy. The March on Rome was not a coup d'état but “little more than a street demonstration” (Francesco Perfetti – historian). The Royal Army, under the orders of the king, had every opportunity to stop the March on Rome, but Vittorio Emanuele III refused to sign the state of siege and on 29 October summoned Mussolini to Rome (who arrived comfortably by train from Milan), tasking him with forming a coalition government. On 17 November 1922, Mussolini's executive (composed not only of fascists, but also of liberals, populists and nationalists) won the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies with 306 votes in favour, 116 against and 7 abstentions. Thus, it was possible for Mussolini, continues Francesco Perfetti (historian), “to come to power in a formally legal manner”. “Fascism,” concludes Vannacci, 'at least until the mid-1930s, exercised power through the instruments provided for by the Albertine Statute, that is, within the legal system of the Kingdom of Italy. All the main laws, from the electoral reform of 1923 to the rules on the single party, up to the laws of 1938 themselves, were approved by Parliament and promulgated by the King, according to the procedures laid down by law'.
© Copyright LaPresse
