{"id":220414,"date":"2022-10-03T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=220414"},"modified":"2022-09-29T04:40:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T03:40:52","slug":"led-by-giorgia-meloni-fascists-take-power-in-italy-for-first-time-since-mussolini-wwii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/10\/led-by-giorgia-meloni-fascists-take-power-in-italy-for-first-time-since-mussolini-wwii\/","title":{"rendered":"Led by Giorgia Meloni, Fascists Take Power in Italy for First Time Since Mussolini, WWII"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, celebrates at party headquarters on September 26, 2022. (Photo: Riccardo De Luca\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

26 Sep 2022 – <\/em>Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the fascist Brothers of Italy<\/em> party, is set to become the country’s prime minister after her far-right coalition emerged victorious in yesterday’s snap election, defeating a fragmented<\/a> center-left and setting the stage for a viciously xenophobic and anti-democratic Italian government.<\/p>\n

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The alliance of Meloni’s party, Matteo Salvini’s The League<\/em>, and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s\u00a0Forza Italia<\/em> won roughly 43% of the vote in early tallies, with Brothers of Italy<\/em> winning around 25% in the low-turnout contest. Results counted thus far indicate that the right-wing coalition failed to garner enough support to amend Italy’s constitution.<\/p>\n

Italy’s centrist Democratic Party is poised to lead the opposition.<\/p>\n

“This is a sad day for the country,” Debora Serracchiani, a Democratic Party leader, said<\/a> of Meloni’s win.<\/p>\n

Meloni has rejected<\/a> the fascist label, but her party has its roots in the neofascist movement that emerged following the death of dictator Benito Mussolini. Meloni was a youth member<\/a> of the Italian Social Movement, which was created by former members of Mussolini’s National Fascist Party.<\/p>\n

Brothers of Italy’s fascist heritage can be seen on its flag<\/a>, which features a tricolor flame that served as the Italian Social Movement’s symbol.<\/p>\n

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Last month, in an address<\/a> aimed at distancing herself from her past involvement with fascist organizations, Meloni said that she has in recent years “had the honor of leading the European Conservative Party,” which “shares values and experiences with the British Tories, the U.S. Republicans, and the Israeli Likud.”<\/p>\n

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and Italian studies at New York University, wrote<\/a> for The Atlantic<\/em> last week that “Meloni’s enemies list is familiar: ‘LGBT lobbies’ that are out to harm women and the family by destroying ‘gender identity’; George Soros, an ‘international speculator,’ she has said, who finances global ‘mass immigration’ that threatens a Great Replacement of white, native-born Italians.”<\/p>\n

“Meloni seems unlikely to tone down her extremism or change her alignment with illiberal parties in Europe, such as Hungary’s Fidesz,”\u00a0Ben-Ghiat argued. “After all, pursuing hard-line anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ policies in the name of defending white Christian civilization has worked well for them. Like [Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor] <\/span>Orb\u00e1n, Meloni has made common cause with U.S. Republicans, attending the Conservative Political Action Conference and the National Prayer Breakfast.”<\/p>\n

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Exit polls suggest victory for Meloni: coalition includes a neo-fascist (Meloni) and a convicted criminal (Berlusconi). This consolidates trends from Berlusconi years, when neo-fascists came into the political system. My @TheAtlantic<\/a> essay: https:\/\/t.co\/DHkDkE2tci<\/a><\/p>\n

— Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) September 25, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n