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The radical left was particularly strong in Italy during the Great War, as it benefitted from the government's unpopularity and the war among the poor and the working class. In 1917, the Italian Socialist Party allied itself with the Soviet Union and agitated for Italy's revolution.  Industrial workers in the major Italian cities had formed themselves into powerful trade unions. During the difficult war years, they frequently went on strike and were often brutally repressed by the Italian police and armies.<ref>De Grand, p. 78 </ref> After the end of the First World War, these strikes paralyzed many cities, and these actions greatly alarmed the middle class and wealthy Italians.

The Fascists presented themselves as the saviors of Italy by Mussolini, who was a skillful propagandist. Propaganda is a method of persuading people to do things and commit actions to further some interest group or faction. Mussolini was a pioneer in its use, and an admiring Adolf Hitler would model his public speaking on Mussolini. The Italian Fascists leader was a charismatic speaker, and he spoke in an emotive style that appealed to Italians, which won him many supporters. The Fascists used a series of symbols to associate themselves with Rome and Italy's past glories. The party was named after the Roman symbol of justice - the Fascii.<ref>De Grand, p. 123 </ref>  The use of symbols of such symbols appealed to many Italians when they felt that their nation had been humiliated in the war and by the Treaty of Versailles. Above all, Mussolini's anti-communist rhetoric won him a substantial following in Italy, among all classes. It seems that most Italians, the middle class, the elite and Catholics, all feared communism, particularly, and lived in fear of a revolution. Mussolini was able to portray himself and his party as the defenders of Italy as the only ones who could save the country from the red menace.<ref>De Grand, p. 121 </ref>