Why Italy has a neofascist prime minister

In September, Italy stunned Europe by electing Giorgia Meloni, associated with neo-fascism, as head of government. Two books this fall explain why Italians view fascism through rose-colored glasses. Interviews with historians Paul Corner of the University of Siena, author of Mussolini in Myth and Memoryand John Foot of the University of Bristol, author of Blood and Power.

What was the reaction in Italy to the election of a politician close to neo-fascism?

John Foot (JF): Surprisingly, there were almost no reactions. In 1994, the election of post-fascist politicians with [Silvio] Berlusconi had sparked monster demonstrations in the streets. There is a generation change. Those who knew fascism are almost all dead. For young people, the 1920s and 1930s are as relevant as the 19th century.^e century or the Roman Empire.

Why are Italians soft on fascism?

Paul Corner (CP): They see themselves as “good people”. By convention, they feel like they are not capable of doing harm. Fascism has had the great good fortune of being compared to Nazism, which is obviously worse. I wrote this book out of frustration with this complacency.

JF: There is a great debate about fascism among historians in Italy. In recent years, several works have demolished the idea that fascism was benign. It was an imperial, violent and aggressive regime. But obviously, public opinion does not take into account the discoveries of historians. The idea that Italy switched sides in 1943 and fought the Germans erases all national guilt.

On the other hand, at the base, there is a great desire for unity. Communist leader Palmiro Togliatti supported an amnesty for fascists after the war. And one of the great political crises of modern Italy, the kidnapping and assassination of Aldo Moro in 1978, was linked to his plan for a “historic compromise” allowing the entry of communists into government. So, we cannot deny a part of our past, we accept it and we look at it with kindness.

Does far-left violence influence opinion favorable to fascism?

JF: Certainly yes. There were attacks by the Red Brigades in the 1970s, and also far-right terrorism, that said. And after all, Mussolini took power because of the fear of communism. Italy experienced in 1921-1922 the biennio rosso, two years when the extreme left took control of many factories and cities. My own great-grandmother was sympathetic to fascism. Mussolini was popular in major democracies until his invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 because of this opposition to communism.

Is Giorgia Meloni a neofascist?

pc: His pedigree is fascist. His speech in Madrid in October to the Vox party was fascist [elle a vanté l’« Europe des patriotes »]. Since she was elected, she has been careful. But, as we say in English, if it walks and talks like a duck… [si ça marche comme un canard, fait du bruit comme un canard, c’est un canard]. Anyway, many around him are obviously fascist.

JF: It doesn’t do much good to call her a fascist. She was a teenager, she spent her political life in this world. But fascism no longer interests him. Rather, she is a far-right populist, like the republic of Salò that Mussolini led between 1943 and 1945. But there are people in her party who are very close to fascism.

Why was she chosen, then?

pc: The current situation is very difficult, with the economic and migration crises. The left and the technocratic governments have been unable to do anything. Certainly few people voted for her specifically because she is a neo-fascist.

JF: There is the pandemic, the failures of the left in the face of Italy’s structural problems, and above all its very strong personality.

Will we see a return to fascist violence?

pc: It is certain that openly fascist, racist and violent groups, such as CasaPound [du fasciste d’origine américaine Ezra Pound], are more expressive. So far, that hasn’t translated into action.

JF: I do not believe. The Italian Constitution of 1947, which is a marvel of writing, prevents any concentration of power. There are always checks and balances. Italians prefer a weak state, at the risk of it being powerless in the face of the country’s problems.

Apart from the Holocaust, are there any differences between Nazism and Fascism?

pc: Nazism was organized around the concept of race, while fascism privileged the state. Those who were excluded were the political opponents. Fascism creates a new man, while Nazism wants to eliminate impurities so that the Aryan man can fully express himself.

JF: The priority of fascism was to keep power, not to conquer the world. Hitler had the messianic idea of ​​conquering Russia. The alliance with Hitler was Mussolini’s great mistake. Without that, he would have died in his bed, still in power. But without Mussolini, the Nazis did not take power, and neither did Franco. Mussolini changed the world. He showed that organized violence against political enemies makes it possible to take power and keep it.

Mussolini in eight dates

1883: Birth of Mussolini in Emilia-Romagna

1922: Seizure of power after a “march on Rome” of the fascist blackshirts

1929: A concordat with the Vatican legitimizes the fascist regime

1935: Invasion of Ethiopia

1940: Entering the war with the invasion of France

July 24, 1943: Imprisonment of Mussolini by the Fascist Grand Council, peace with the Allies

September 12, 1943: Four days after peace between Italy and the Allies, a German commando liberates Mussolini, who founds the republic of Salò in the northeast of the country

April 28, 1945: Execution by mob of Mussolini in Milan