LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Benito Mussolini: Government
built 607 days ago
Mussolini launched several public construction programs and government initiatives throughout Italy to combat economic setbacks or unemployment levels. His earliest, and one of the best known, was Italy's equivalent of the Green Revolution, known as the "Battle for Grain", in which 5,000 new farms were established and five new agricultural towns on land reclaimed by draining the Pontine Marshes. This plan diverted valuable resources to grain production, away from other less economically viable crops. The huge tariffs associated with the project promoted widespread inefficiencies, and the government subsidies given to farmers pushed the country further into debt. Mussolini ... initiated the "Battle for Land", a policy based on land reclamation outlined in 1928. The initiative had a mixed success; while projects such as the draining of the Pontine Marsh in 1935 for agriculture were good for propaganda purposes, provided work for the unemployed and allowed for great land owners to control subsidies, other areas in the Battle for Land were not very successful.
Source:
Mussolini began to lead an extremely nationalist group in 1919. That same year, he drew in his growing number of followers to form a militia, known by some as the Black Shirts. Finally, in 1920, he gained a foothold in the government, and, in the following year, he formed a well-organized political party that supported his beliefs. He had organized a strike that seized control of railroad stations and telephone exchanges, and destroyed trade union buildings and socialist newspaper offices. Eventually, he would come to control all communication in the northern half of Italy. In 1922, he declared himself the dictator after King Victor Emmanuel III put in his support for Mussolini’s ideals.
Source:
Mussolini played up to his financial backers at first by transferring a number of industries from public to private ownership. But by the 1930s he had begun moving back to the opposite extreme of rigid governmental control of industry. A great deal of money was spent on highly visible public works, and on international prestige projects such as the SS Rex Blue Riband ocean liner and aeronautical achievements such as the world's fastest seaplane the Macchi M.C.72 and the transatlantic flying boat cruise of Italo Balbo, who was greeted with much fanfare in the United States when he landed in Chicago. Those projects earned respect from some countries, but the economy suffered from Mussolini's strenuous efforts to make Italy self-sufficient. A concentration on heavy industry proved problematic, perhaps because Italy lacked the basic resources.
Source:
Mussolini played up to his financial backers at first by transferring a number of industries from public to private ownership. But by the 1930's he had begun moving back to the opposite extreme of rigid governmental control of industry. A great deal of money was spent on public works. But the economy suffered from his exaggerated attempt to make Italy self-sufficient. There was too much concentration on heavy industry, for which Italy lacked the resources.
Source:
Although Mussolini was much influenced by D'Annunzio, the D'Annunzio never held an important post in Mussolini's government. D'Annunzio died of a stroke at his desk on March 1, 1938. He was given a state funeral by Mussolini. D´Annunzio´s collected works were published in the 1950s. His correspondence with Mussolini appeared in 1971.
Source:
In March 1919, after the war ended, Mussolini reorganized what was left of the socialist party. This group became an official political movement. Through this political party, Mussolini promised a major governmental overhaul and reforms across the board. Italy was in desperate need of a strong leader and Mussolini fit the bill. As William Martin
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Government