Dictators gain power by social, political, and economic factors. The story of Mussolini, the most iconic dictator, is an excellent example. Mussolini's path to power could be described as a textbook dictatorship. He used the divine right of kingship to secure his position in the hearts of the people, brought in the aristocracy to unify their interests and interfere with the vote, and took advantage of the economic recession by promising to revive the economy at a time when the people were losing confidence in the current government.
Mussolini has succeeded in capturing the hearts and minds of the public by relying on social opinion. This includes, but is not limited to, bringing in religious forces to make the public worship him, limiting the voices of other political parties to create a dominant fascist party, and using promises to trick the public into trusting him, and bringing in the king to be part of the forces behind him.
With the king as his backer, Mussolini was able to call the shots in the political arena. Despite the divine right of kings, Mussolini also implemented other ways to obtain power and control over Italy. In the political aspect, when Italy held the election, he tried every possible means to interfere with the election. “citation” He used these extreme ways to repress other words from citizens, workers, and other parties. Samely, he tried his best to win over the aristocracy and close the relationship between himself and the royal family. He assigned and invited the King's confidants, Diaz and General Revell, as Minister of Defense and Minister of Coast Defense. Thus, as return, Italy’s king gave him enough power and the right to do everything he wanted in Italy. “The king decided that Mussolini was the best hope for his dynasty to survive. After widespread of violence and a threatened uprising, Mussolini took power ‘legally’” (830).
After the Great Depression, the public's confidence in the government has fallen to freezing. Italian wants a leader who would take action, that is the reason that Mussolini's persuasion is particularly attractive. The worse the economic situation is, the more trust people have in the fascist party. Thus, this is a great time for Mussolini to take power. Soon, Mussolini reached his goal of dictatorship.