The Acerbo Law was an Italian
electoral
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has oper ...
law proposed by Baron
Giacomo Acerbo and passed by the
Italian Parliament in November 1923. The purpose of it was to give
Mussolini's fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...
a majority of
deputies
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for e ...
. The law was used only in the
1924 general election, which was the last competitive election held in Italy until 1946.
Background
In 1922,
Benito Mussolini became the prime minister of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
as a result of the
March on Rome
The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 192 ...
. However, he still only had 35 deputies in Parliament and 10 Nationalist allies. He was in a weak position and relied on the
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
with other parties that could easily unravel and force
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Victor Emmanuel III to dismiss him. The idea was to change the voting system from
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
to a system which would allow Mussolini to have a clear majority.
Terms of the law
The Acerbo Law stated that the party gaining the ''largest share'' of the votes – provided they had gained at least 25 percent of the votes – gained ''two-thirds of the seats'' in parliament. The remaining third was shared amongst the other parties
proportionally.
Reasoning
Mussolini could only count on the support of 35
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
deputies and 10
Nationalists. The law was passed on a majority vote. The obvious question is why a majority of deputies from other parties voted for the law knowing that one way or another Mussolini would gain the 25% required. The
Socialists
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the econ ...
voted against it but made no effort to coordinate other parties to oppose it. The Catholic
Italian People's Party were divided and leaderless after Mussolini had engineered the dismissal of
Luigi Sturzo. The official policy was to abstain but 14 deputies voted for the measure. The smaller Liberal parties generally voted in favour. They lacked clear direction and many believed Mussolini's talk of strong government or hoped to keep their positions. There is no doubt that the presence of armed
squadristi
The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...
in the Chamber intimidated many into voting for the measure.
The 1924 election
While an election was held straight afterwards under the new rules, the result has to be seriously questioned given widespread violence against Mussolini's opposition, along with voter intimidation and electoral fraud. Consequently, his opponents were demoralised and in disarray, while many of the new Fascist deputies were ex-Liberal deputies who commanded a substantial personal following, especially in the South.
Repeal
Following the transformation of Italy in a
one-party State
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other partie ...
in 1926, the Acerbo Law became obsolete. In 1928, the
Italian Parliament (now purged of any serious opposition) overwhelmingly passed a new electoral law, known as Rocco Law from his proponent
Alfredo Rocco; the new Law turned Italian elections into a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
on a single list of candidates selected by the
Grand Council of Fascism among members of the
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
and affiliated organizations.
References
{{Fascism
1923 in Italy
1923 in law
Italian Fascism
Political history of Italy
Legal history of Italy
Election legislation