giolitti and cavallotti's attacks were soon renewed more fiercely than ever. they produced little effect and the general election of 1895 gave crispi a huge majority of 334 seats out of 508. on 25 june 1895, crispi refused a request to allow a parliamentary inquiry into his role in the banca romana scandal, saying as a prime minister he felt he was "invulnerable" because he had "served italy for 53 years". despite his majority, crispi preferred to rule via royal degree instead of getting legislation passed by parliament, leading to concerns about authoritarianism.