Abstract

On the morrow of the Great War, the ruling classes of several European countries tried to exploit the memory of the conflict as an instrument to overcome the deep legitimacy crisis which had been troubling them for years. This article examines how, during the French and Italian general elections of November 1919, the main political families used the memory of the war as a discursive resource. It also considers how the new voting system influenced the elections, and how the war helped legitimise/delegitimise individuals and political groups. The essay finally points out the reasons why the political culture that was born by the conflict - the culture of the Union Sacrée - was received so differently, and was so diversely effective, in France and in Italy.