Giolitti Era (nov 3, 1903 – mar 21, 1914)

Description:

Politics dominated by Giovanni Giolitti, head of the Liberals
(the Liberals were a political party made up of the upper and middle class who supported democracy, conservatism and favoured the richer members of society)

period marked by new political rivals:
Socialists and Nationalists
Added to this were the Futurists, a cultural movement in opposition to liberal democracy and propagating modernization, rapid industrialization, war, nationalism, imperialism

Giolitti had to:
- satisfy the masses
- not upset the old aristocracy
- not uspet the Church
- control the opposition
He failed in this, only upsetting other Libs for giving concessions to the Church and the workers

Period marked by many reforms:
- expanding suffrage (all males >30 y-o)
- benefitting the "petty burgeoise"
(shopkeepers, small traders)

Period also marked by rapid industralization in the North,
but little investment into the South,
this deepened the North-South divide

Period also marked by political corruption (Transformismo)
This alienated the masses of people who had no real impact on politics

Socialists were a big problem,
they frequently rioted (e.g. Red Week in 1914),
they were brutally supressed,
but they did spark fear within the petty burgeoise who started looking for alternatives to Liberalism

Added to timeline:

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