How the Caracciolo class could upset Washington treaty arithmetic

How would four completed Francesco Caracciolo-class battleships affect Italy and the Washington Naval Treaty?

They would strengthen Italy's claim to parity with France and probably raise the capital-ship allowances demanded by France and Japan, making the treaty harder to conclude.

Completing all four Francesco Caracciolo-class ships is estimated to leave Italy with roughly ten or eleven dreadnoughts, depending on which older ships survived. That investment could encourage Italy to seek parity with Japan or insist on retaining eight or nine modern ships. France would then resist accepting fewer ships than Italy. One hypothetical settlement gives France and Italy eight each, Japan twelve, and Britain and the United States twenty each. A second allows nine each for France and Italy, fourteen for Japan, and twenty each for Britain and the United States, changing the ratios as well as the totals. These examples illustrate how a larger Italian fleet could complicate the bargaining that produced the Washington Naval Treaty.