The Italian Federation, was a country situated on the Italian peninsula which lasted from 1920-1930. Although it claimed to be the official government of all of Italy, its claims were disputed by the French-backed Socialist Republic of Italy. the Italian Federation bordered Switzerland to the northwest, Austria-Hungary to the northeast, and the Socialist Republic of Italy to both the north and southwest.
History[]
Collapse of the Kingdom[]
The unified Italy created in 1861 lasted little more than half a century. Her decision to side with the Entente powers rather than her traditional Central European allies during the Weltkrieg proved to be a mistake of the highest order. Though Italy escaped the fighting in 1919 with an armistice that allowed the Austrians to garrison Lombardy and Venetia in exchange for peace, the foolhardiness of the House of Savoy was exposed.
All across Northern Italy, rebels rose up against the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarians both, and the disintegrating Italian armies could not contain them. Desertions and poor morale plagued the royalist efforts to keep control of the nation, and matters were not aided by King Victor Emanuel's decision to abdicate on behalf of himself and his son. The succession was then claimed by the Duke of Aosta, Emanuel Philibert, but the royalist forces in southern Italy were unwilling to accept his direction from faraway Sardinia, preferring the Duke of Genoa as king. He was unwilling to take up the throne, however, and the generals and bureaucrats in Rome resigned themselves to winning the war without an official head of state.
Meanwhile, in the north, the rebels split into two factions, the socialist "Reds" and the "Whites." The Whites were pushed into Lombardy, and Red forces pursued, forcing the Austrians to realize that order would not restore itself in Italy.
Creation[]
The reasons for the establishment of the Federation were multifaceted and complex, but in essence it was created to solve the existential problems for all polities in mainland Italy hostile to the socialists. Austria-Hungary needed a legitimate government it could end the war with, and one that could plausibly stop the socialists and remain friendly to the Austro-Hungarians. The White rebels needed aid from the Austro-Hungarian military to hold off the encroaching socialists. Finally, the ailing Kingdom of Italy in the Mezzogiorno needed a new political system to rally around. These interests came together in the summer of 1920. Austria-Hungary pushed the rebels out of Lombardy and Venetia for the White rebels, and an armistice was signed with the new Socialist Republic of Italy. In exchange, the whites and the southern armies and bureaucrats pledged themselves to a new Italian Federation at Trieste. This decentralized, aristocratic and pro-Austrian entity would unite the fractious groups that opposed the socialists in Italy under one flag. The Entente compelled "King" Emanuel Philibert to join the Federation as Austria demanded, for it was unwilling to jeopardize their own armistice with the Central Powers. Thus, the Federation was born, officially comprising all pre-unification states of Italy as members, plus the Republic of Lombardy-Venetia. In practice, only the Pope and King of the Two Sicilies were able to be restored to their authority and thrones. The rest of the ostensible member states were occupied by the Socialist Republic of Italy, which would remain a rival government throughout its continued existence.
Decline and Dissolution[]
The Federation's stability - at least within the lands not occupied by the socialists - and recognition remained strong until 1925 when the British Empire collapsed. As through much of Europe, a war scare shot through the peninsula, and the Socialists made preparatory moves to attack the southern states of the Federation. Austria, experiencing fiscal and political difficulties, made the decision to withdraw forces from Rome and the Mezzogiorno. Furious, the Sicilian government saw no benefit in remaining part of the Federation and abandoned the system. The Kingdom of Sardinia and the Papal State took the opportunity to leave as well, though it did not yet proclaim itself the Kingdom of Italy reborn. Ultimately, however, the new syndicalist Union of Britain did not provide the support that leaders in Torino anticipated, and the spectre of war faded from Italy. While the the Republic of Lombardy-Venetia continued to remain part of the Federation, the writing was on the wall, and when the Federation Council's term of office expired in 1930 it was not renewed. Instead, Prime Minister and Interim Head Ivanoe Bonomi proclaimed the Republic of Italy, returning to the White movement's roots after the failure of the Austrian project.
Government[]
The legislature of the federation was the Council of the Italian Federation (Italian: Consiglio della Federazione Italiana), a congress made up of delegates from the federation's member states, with delegates being up for elections every ten years. The Council was intended to be housed in the capital of the current head of state, that being Milan in the Republic of Lombardy-Venetia. The head of state, officially known as the Head of the Council of the Italian Federation, is usually a head of state of one of the states within the federation, with a new Head of the Federation being selected upon the death of the prior Head by members of the Council. The First Head of the Federation was Pietro Ferdinando I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, however, as he was unable to return to Tuscany, the civilian leader of the republican whites, the Prime Minister of Lombardy-Venetia, was given the position of Interim Head of the Council of the Italian Federation. In the event that the Head of the Federation was either incapable of taking office, was not yet selected, or in certain exceptional circumstances the Prime minister of the capital country would become the Interim Head of the Federation.