Why weren't supporters of democracy able to put up a stronger fight against Mussolini?

... Why weren't supporters of democracy able to put up a stronger fight against Mussolini? The natural enemies of the fascists did remarkably little to prevent the fascists entering government. Indeed, the few things that were done by the left were actually helpful to the fascist cause. The socialist movement had split, linked to and partly financed by the Bolshevik government in Russia. In late July 1922, the socialist-dominated trades unions formed an Alliance of Labour to resist the fascists and called a 24-hour general strike. This received little support, even in the big industrial centres such as Milan and Turin, and in the Catholic and communist unions did not participate. The weakly supported strike provided an opportunity for the fascists to attack the strikers and to make a show of providing voluntary services before posing as the saviours of the country. When Mussolini became PM, those who welcomed his appointment expected

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