The social and economic policies of the Fascists until 1939 contributed significantly to their control of Italy, but cannot be cited as the only cause. The Fascist Party's social and economic policies and other factors attributed to the overall control of Italy. Through such policies, it was certain that the Fascist Party would hold total power over the Italian population in every aspect of an individual's life, whether it was their leisure time through the Dopolavoro or their work in the framework of the corporate state system officially introduced in 1934. This complete domination of the lives of the Italian people could be considered to have been the determining factor in the fascists' control over Italy until 1939. Other factors contributed to fascist control over Italy, including censorship of anti-fascist ideologies and criticism of Italy. the party, the OVRA secret police, political reforms and the personality of Mussolini. Censorship and intimidation of opponents of the fascist regime meant that the majority were too afraid to speak out against the government and the press was also heavily censored, ensuring that only a positive image of fascists was conveyed. The OVRA, the secret police, terrified the Italian population, which reinforced the idea that criticism would not be tolerated and that harsh sanctions would be administered if opposition was discovered. The reform of the electoral system of July 1923 meant that to obtain 2/3 of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies, a party must only collect 25% of the votes. This system almost guaranteed the Fascist party the majority of seats and therefore ultimate control over Italy. Mussolini's personality could be seen as an important reason for Fascist control over Italy; he... middle of paper... of the fascist regime” (Tobias Asbe, The Fascism Reader p. 395). The Dopolavoro was very popular because leisure activities and vacations were accessible to all Italian workers thanks to the organization. Although not strongly fascist, this organization was simply another way for the fascist government to regulate the lives of the Italian people and it could therefore be argued that employee control until 1939 was achieved through the Dopolavoro and therefore, this organization was of great importance. relevance to fascist control. The Fascists' control over Italy until 1939 could also be attributed to their economic policies. After World War I, Italy was plagued by serious economic problems; all war-related industries ceased to cause mass unemployment and union membership soared, meaning strikes were commonplace. Works Cited Tobias Asbe, The Fascism Reader p. 395