Anti-Fascist Protesters Rally in Italy as Mussolini’s Heirs Gain Ground
Under this image the Times caption says: "Members of Forza Nuova, a far-right party that marches with the straight-armed salute of Mussolini, held a banner reading 'Italy to the Italians' during a protest in Bologna this month."
The specter of Benito Mussolini returned this month in form of a poster at Piazza Venezia, the Roman square where more than 70 years ago he fired up the masses with Fascist speeches and stirred a fatal brew of Italian nationalism.
The multistory movie poster of Mussolini, a.k.a. Il Duce, head bald and arms akimbo, advertised “I’m Back,” a satirical film imagining the dictator’s return to modern-day Italy.
In many ways, the poster symbolized the debate on Mussolini — or at least the violent nationalism that fueled his rise — that has returned with force to the country as critical elections loom on March 4.
The re-emergence of extremist violence, harassment and xenophobia has gripped Italy and forced the country to reckon with the hard-right and fascist ideologies fueled by a lingering financial crisis and migration.
But it has also spurred a countermovement.
Demonstrators marched in Rome on Saturday to stand up to fascism.
“We are here to say no to fascism and racism, which are a danger today for democracy and coexistence,” Carla Nespolo, the president of the National Association of Italian Partisans, said at the national demonstration that brought thousands to the streets under the hash tags #FascismNeverAgain and #RacismNeverAgain.
“It’s said that if you don’t know your history you are doomed to living it again. We don’t want to repeat the tragedies of fascism and Nazism,” Ms. Nespolo said.
She added that what frightened her most was the “indifference, superficiality and ignorance” that allowed fascist ideologies to take root.
As the elections approach, politically inspired violence has become an almost daily occurrence.
This month, a fascist extremist who carried a candle with an image of Mussolini opened fire on African immigrants in Macerata, wounding at least six people before he was arrested.
Interior Minister Marco Minniti described the shootings as an “evident display of racial hatred.”
Forza Nuova, a far-right party that marches with the straight-armed salute of Mussolini, has repeatedly clashed with the police and anti-fascist protesters.
Members of CasaPound, a political party that proudly claims to admire Mussolini, recently invaded the emergency area of a hospital in Bolzano to protest homeless people who take refuge there overnight.
. . . .
As the violence worsens, some critics have blamed Matteo Salvini, the bombastic secretary of the League party and, to a lesser extent, Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy, the modern heirs of the party that rose from the ashes of Mussolini’s Fascists.
For the coming elections, Mr. Salvini and Ms. Meloni have joined former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and their coalition is leading in the polls. Mr. Berlusconi is not new to such alliances.
When he first came to power, in 1994, he governed in a coalition that included the post-fascist Italian Social Movement, or M.S.I., which was founded by Mussolini’s supporters some 50 years earlier.
(Brothers of Italy is an offshoot of M.S.I.)
Mr. Berlusconi’s current allies promote Italian nationalism and conservatism, seeking to defend against the Islamization of Italy and banning migration from underdeveloped countries.
“There is nothing moderate about the Brothers of Italy or the League,” said Andrea Mammone, a historian at Royal Holloway at the University of London, who writes on nationalism and the far right in Italy.
“If those aren’t extreme-right themes perpetuated by neo-fascist parties, what are?”
Mr. Salvini has said on the campaign trail that fascism had done positive things for the country, and the center-right candidate running the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, has said that Italy had to protect “the white race.”
He later apologized.
These parties, critics say, are sowing the seed of subversion through their populist courtship of voters and fomenting xenophobia by spreading an anti-migrant message.
. . . .
Despite the recent violence, Ms. Nespolo, said that she doubted Italy was on its way to legitimizing fascism “because the Italian Constitution bans it.”
“Italy is not Hungary or Poland,” she added in a telephone interview before the march.
In the other countries, she said, racist propaganda has become commonplace and a recent rally in Warsaw by far-right nationalists drew 60,000.
The National Association of Italian Partisans, known by the initials A.N.P.I. for its Italian name, has been circulating a petition to ban neo-fascist parties like CasaPound — whose leader, Simone Di Stefano, is running for prime minister — and Forza Nuova from participating in any future elections.
“They claim they aren’t fascist, they say they are Italians for Italians — but it’s just camouflage,” Ms. Nespolo said.
It is possible Ms. Nespolo uses "fascism" as emptily as the activist left typically does.
But, no, it doesn't look it.
When racist, nationalist parties in Italy openly celebrate Mussolini and use the roman salute it is certainly cause for concern.
Their enthusiasm is probably not merely for his haircut or remarkable jawline.
If those parties, at least, are not for the real thing, what are they?
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