After becoming a member of the national PNF leadership in 1932, he moved on from local politics to become the president of the Fascist Confederation of Professionals and Artists, which propelled him to a leadership position in the Council of Corporations. He took part in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War as a lieutenant inspecting the squadron led by Galeazzo Ciano (a group nicknamed "La Disperata"), and as a correspondent for "Corriere della Sera". Throughout his political career, Pavolini published cultural and literary essays, such as "Disperata" ("The Desperate"; 1937) and "Scomparsa d'Angela" ("Angela's Disappearance"; 1940). In 1939, he was appointed by Mussolini Minister of Popular Culture, and served until January 1943.