Northern Italy Question

Membership card of the Italian Socialist Party

***Preface: This article is not up-to-date and is made to reflect the addition of content to Italy, whenever that may be. This is a work in progress.***

The **Northern Italy** Question is an ongoing debate among the Italian government about how to handle the continuing revolutionary unrest in Northern Italy, beginning in 1930.

# History:

## Unionism and socialism in the Kingdom of Italy

The history of Italian unionism and socialism developed after the widespread 1848 revolutions that swept Western Europe. As the decades went on the Socialist Party of Italy or the PSI greatly shaped the Italian identity. The PSI, formed in 1892 based its ideological principles under democratic revolutionary socialism, but the 1910s would greatly shape the leftist political landscape in the country. Class struggle peaked in Italy in the late 1910s; Throughout this wave of labor radicalism, syndicalists, along with anarchists, formed the most consistently revolutionary faction on the left as socialists sought to rein in workers and prevent unrest after 1919.

The Italian syndicalist movement had split during the war, as the syndicalist supporters of Italian intervention left USI. The interventionists, led by Alceste de Ambris and Edmondo Rossoni, formed the Italian Union of Labor (*Unione Italiana del Lavoro*, UIL) in 1918. The UIL's national syndicalism emphasized workers' love of labor, self-sacrifice, and the nation rather than anti-capitalist class struggle. Both USI and the UIL grew significantly during the *biennio rosso*. The first factory occupation of the *biennio* was carried out by the UIL at a steel plant in Dalmine in February 1919, before the military put an end to it. In July, a strike movement spread through Italy, culminating in a general strike on July 20. While USI supported it and was convinced by the workers' enthusiasm that revolution could be possible, the UIL and the socialists were opposed. The socialists succeeded in curtailing the general strike and it imploded with a day. The government, unsettled by the radicalism on display, reacted with repression against the far left and concessions to workers and peasants.

## Switch to revolutionary syndicalism

When the German Civil War began and the tide quickly switched to the side of the syndicalists, a change was in the air of the Italian left. The PSI supported the syndicalist movement as did many other European factions like the French CGT. When the civil war ended the PSI began to adopt more and more of revolutionary syndicalist principles. Since syndicalism was the first leftist ideology to establish a concurrent country, the PSI was soon dominated by syndicalists within a few years. However, one issue that the PSI faced was participation in capitalist politics. This resulted in a split from more traditional syndicalists, but regardless the PSI was the biggest political party within the Italian left. In general however there has always been a divide between the more rich urban North and the rural agricultural south. The north was more liberalized than the south which had always been in favor for the Italian monarchy.

## Early 1920s: falling out of Italian syndicalism

As this change was ongoing, Italy emerged triumphant in gaining control over the Adriatic and was victorious in the Cairo War, dominating the Central Mediterranean, now owning Cyprus and Malta. With these victories the prerequisites for a social revolution became untenable. The Italian economy was flourishing and workers for the most part became content. The PSI would continue its efforts to gain influence in the political aspect of the country and began to more firmly represent the need for improved rights for the working population of Italy.

The Italian government frequently cracked down on the PSI who was now receiving funding from the German government. Bologna suffered especially from this crackdown as the city was the PSI’s headquarters. However the PSI continued its efforts but was severely diminished from what it once was decades before.

## 1927-present day: beginning of the divide and resurgence of the PSI

The resurgence of the PSI began with the Great Depression in late 1927. Markets plummeted in Italy, as agricultural output tanked. The so-called "Roaring 1920s" for Italy came to a fast end in early November. For the next several years Italy would struggle to reassert itself onto the world stage and get its economy up and running. Many Italians were jobless and unable to find work as the current government could not stop the crisis either. The PSI took up the chance as many Italians saw the government as weak, and soon propaganda was created and plastered across Northern Italy, calling the ruling government weak, ineffective and only in cooperation for the rich, and to some extent that was true.

Nevertheless the people of northern Italy began throwing their support behind the PSI wanting greater economic and social liberties, believing that socialism and syndicalism can bring them those principles.

For the next few years Northern Italy would see a gradual split from the rest of the country as socialist sympathies increased, and many leftist politicians across Italy moved into the north, where their fiery speeches and charisma charmed the people there even further. The Italian government for its part knew it was unable to properly suppress syndicalist agitation and instead gave them a more diplomatic approach.

However diplomacy also failed as the syndicalists wanted major reforms in the workplace including agrarian and industrial changes to which the Italian government was and is unable to agree to. As unrest grew with strikes and even riots becoming ever more frequent, in April of 1930 the Italian government led the Mission of Venice, where it was the first and only meeting between syndicalists and government officials to discuss what can be done without tensions escalating. Many critics believed that this meeting would be doomed to fail, and they would be right as both sides left Venice frustrated, unable to come to a mutual agreement. After this disaster, any sort of syndicalist reformism quickly became sidelined by revolutionary syndicalism. Socialists like Alceste De Ambris became famous for their confident speeches, denouncing capitalism monarchism and the current government of Italy.