Taken from "Italy: Her Impact and Influence in the Twentieth Century" by Conte di Rosso pp.386
King Umberto II was rapidly elevated to power on 22nd November and found himself in charge of a country with widespread dissatisfaction. Many commentators were critical of the twenty-one year old and his early decisions but he was later vindicated by history. On 1st December he stood in the Senate and gave notice of a national referendum on the monarchy to be held on 3rd January. Contemporary accounts state that the populace had come to distrust the previous monarch and Umberto's own confidence was shattered. In fact Umberto knew precisely what he was doing and laid the foundations for the modern Italian Republic. It was his confidence in the method of government that was broken, not in himself. He saw that the violence and turmoil of the previous decade could be vanquished and replaced by a more trusted method of government.
The month of December saw Umberto travelling throughout the country speaking to his people and putting forward his reasons for change. As an orator rivalled only by Odysseus, and full of youthful energy, he assuaged the fears of the elites and became, in contrast to the previous King, almost revered by the population. On the 3rd January, the country voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and replacing it with parliamentary democracy although the voting was split, with the more southern regions being more monarchist. The next 6 months were spent in writing the constitution, a document ensconcing Umberto's ideals . The Italian Republic that emerged even looked different, a separate referendum resulted in the inhabitants of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania becoming Italian citizens in three new regions. This would lead to a muslim senator in a catholic country, a bizarre series of events but which were representative of the new liberal regime.