The Effects of the First World War on Italy and the Growth of Fascism

The national elections of November 1919 were the most significant in Italy since the political and territorial reunification of 1870. These were the first elections to take place under mass political democracy. All men were given the vote and the electoral law of August 1919 meant that a system of proportional representation was in place.
The idea of mass democracy was very different to what had been in place since unification in 1870 to 1912 when near universal male suffrage was provided. The parliament had been controlled by the liberal nationalist minority drawn from the educated and propertied middle class and the liberal aristocracy.
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