Domenico Cavagnari served as chief of staff while Benito Mussolini simultaneously acted as minister of the navy. That arrangement made the dictator Cavagnari's direct political superior. Mussolini was known for signing papers while drunk, giving a forceful naval chief an unusual opportunity to secure decisions and resources. Cavagnari's later claim to have lacked influence is therefore difficult to separate from how little he achieved with unusually direct access to power.
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Cavagnari answered directly to Mussolini
The Italian naval chief spent his tenure beneath a dictator who also held the navy portfolio, concentrating both access and responsibility at the top of the service.