To what extent is it legitimate to describe Mussolini as a 'popular dictator' between 1925 and 1943?

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I would say that that term is entirely appropriate during the 1920s and 30s but as WWII went on people became entirely disenchanted with him. By 1943 he had no poular support at all. What you might try doing is finding books on Italian history during that period rather than specific biographies of the man himself. They might give you more of the information you are looking for.

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The slogan was "Mussolini, the man who made the Trains Run on Time." It was simple, if the train was late... the engineer was arrested or tortured, along with the conductor and ticket clerk.

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The reason that the year 1943 is so pivotal with regard to El Duce, is that summer was when the Allies invaded Sicily, and on into southern Italy. The Italian Army surrended in their hundreds of thousands, only too glad to become POWs. They had very little taste for actual fighting, because it might mean getting hurt, or getting their uniforms dirty. It is not quite true that the Italian armoured vehicles had one forward gear but four reverse gears to get away more quickly.

Eventually, Mussolini was attacked and killed and his body was hung from a lamp post along with his mistress, who was also killed. Treachery is an old Italian tradition, and they invented the term, vendetta, the blood curse.

In summation, Mussolini was a buffoon, who liked to strike heroic poses on his balcony, but when it seemed that the Italians were beaten, they quickly turned on him. A dictator whose rhealm was built on shifting sands, and staffed by cowards.

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It?s Il duce, actually. And to some he?s still popular today...

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In the beginning, many people let the fascists do as they pleased with public officials, etc. There was initially a fear of communism (since Russia's revolution in 1917), and violent conservative nationalists after the borders of 1918/19. When Mussolini asked for governmental powers, he simply got it.

First answer by ID0000000000. Last edit by Phing. Contributor trust: 6 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 252 [recommend question]