ABSTRACT

Liberal and Catholic deputies ignored his speech in the confidence debate, choosing to emphasize Mussolini's promise to restore law and order. On that day, Mussolini made a famous speech accepting moral responsibility for Matteotti's murder and challenged the opposition to move against him. In a series of shrewd concessions, Mussolini won the support of the army and industrialists but balanced this policy with concessions to fascism's intransigent wing, which ushered in a new period of violence against fascism's enemies. In 1903, he began working for the Interior Ministry, eventually advancing to the rank of prefect in some of Italy's most troublesome cities until Mussolini tapped him; he remained chief of police until his death in Rome. The power he wielded in this position earned him the nickname of "Vice Duce." Announced by Mussolini as a response to League of Nations sanctions over Ethiopia and accompanied by a great propaganda campaign, this policy had its origins during the Great Depression.