“Mussolini was a good man,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, aged 19, told French media. At the time, she was the national leader of the youth wing of the National Alliance (AN), a post-fascist party descended from Mussolini’s National Fascist Party (PNF). Just over 25 years later she became Italy’s first female Prime Minister and the Italian far-right became a fixture of mainstream politics.
The insidious longevity of fascism
The Italian constitution, written in 1947, outlaws the reorganisation of the “dissolved” Fascist party. Despite this, fascism in Italy never disappeared, it just found new forms. Mussolini may have been killed and the PNF banned, but soon after neo-fascist parties were established as its successor. These parties carefully avoided claiming to be the dissolved party, thus exploiting a legal loophole. For example, the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) was founded in 1946 by supporters, allies, and friends of Mussolini. Some remained influential in Italian politics until the MSI was dissolved in 1995.
From the late 1960s until the late 1980s, Italy experienced a period of terrorism and sociopolitical turmoil known as the Years of Lead. Terrorist attacks from both the extreme right and extreme left were common, including the bombing of the Bologna train station by the extreme right, which killed 85 people, and the kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister, Aldo Moro, by the extreme left.
Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia (FI) first came to power in 1994 by allying with parties including the National Alliance. The AN had yet to renounce fascist ideology. This marked the first time since 1945 that neo-fascists were included in the Italian government. In 1996, the AN became the successor of the MSI after it dissolved.
In the following years, the AN publicly shifted away from their neo-fascist stance, instead declaring themselves as national conservatives. However, many prominent former neo-fascists, such as Gianfranco Fini, remained in the party. The AN was subsequently succeeded by the current governing party of Italy, Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), co-founded by Giorgia Meloni, Ignazio La Russa and Guido Crosetto. The FdI’s logo has remained the MSI’s tricolour flame.
On September 25, 2022, the right-wing coalition of Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia and Lega (formerly Lega Nord) received the highest number of votes in the general election. On October 21, 2022, Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s Prime Minister.
“Endangering democracy”
On becoming PM, Meloni stated she had “never been fond of nor close to anti-democratic regimes […] including fascism”, promising that fascism was “consigned to history”. She stopped short of calling herself anti-fascist, having previously said that the word to her means “killing a fascist is not a crime.” While Meloni seems to have moderated her political views and shook off some of her fascist past, other members of her party have not followed her lead.
Ignazio La Russa is the first person with a neo-fascist background to hold the position of President of the Senate – the second-highest office in Italian politics. La Russa, son of Mussolini’s secretary and former leader of the youth wing of the MSI, was accused of being morally responsible for the murder of anti-fascist demonstrator, Antonio Marino, in 1973. La Russa is also known for performing a Roman salute in Parliament, collecting fascist memorabilia and having said in 2022 that FdI’s politicians “are heirs of Il Duce [Mussolini].”
Other politicians such as the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, previously said in 2008 that she was “proud to be a fascist.” Furthermore, the Minister of Agriculture and Meloni’s brother-in-law, Francesco Lollobrigida, came under fire in 2024 after refusing to call himself anti-fascist, labelling the term “too generic” and arguing there was no need for him to use it to describe the stance of the FdI.
The extent of these neo-fascist sentiments within Fratelli d’Italia came to light in June 2024, following an investigation by Fanpage, a Naples-based online newspaper. The investigation showed videos of FdI politicians, such as MEP Nicola Procaccini, and Members of the Chamber of Deputies, Marco Perissa and Paolo Trancassini, greeting each other with fascist handshakes.
The investigation also showed members of the FdI’s youth wing making fascist salutes and chanting slogans such as “Sieg Heil” and “Duce, Duce, Duce.” Up-and-coming young politicians, such as Flaminia Pace, were also seen making antisemitic remarks, using racial slurs and expressing their desire to vote for Mussolini. Pace later stepped down from her role as leader of the Pinciano section of the youth wing.
This evidence of neo-fascist sentiment was met with immediate criticism from members of the opposition, including the leader of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, who implored Meloni to label herself an anti-fascist. A week after the investigation was released, Meloni responded by saying “racist, antisemitic or nostalgic sentiments” were “incompatible with Fratelli d’Italia.” However, she also accused Fanpage of using “methods of [authoritarian] regimes” in their undercover journalism. She accused them of “infiltrating political parties” and singling out FdI in their investigation, criticising the investigation for discouraging young people from joining the party, thus “endangering democracy.”
In response to Meloni’s criticism, Fanpage pointed out that their investigation was a standard practice of undercover journalism and that attempts to control the freedom of the press were the “actual” methods of authoritarian regimes.
Acca Larentia and other “commemorations”
In January 2024, a video went viral showing hundreds of people performing fascist salutes on the Roman street, Acca Larentia, outside the former MSI headquarters in commemoration of two neo-fascists who were murdered there by left-wing extremists in 1978. The video also shows people at the annual commemoration performing the fascist ritual of “present”, in which the word “present” is chanted in response to the rallying call of “for all fallen comrades.”
The video drew criticism from Schlein, who called the scene “embarrassing” and likened it to an event one might expect “from 1924”, encouraging Meloni and the FdI to condemn neo-fascists and outlaw the formation of neo-fascist parties. The video also drew criticism from within the government. Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia said, “We [Forza Italia] are anti-fascists”, adding that “there is a law which stipulates you cannot make an apology for fascism in our country”, referencing the 1952 Scelba Law.
In the wake of the video, the Italian Supreme Court came to a decision on a case from 2016 regarding eight fascist militants who were arrested for performing fascist salutes at the memorial of murdered neo-fascist Sergio Ramelli. The court ruled that Roman salutes performed at Acca Larentia or other similar events were legal because they posed no threat of “inciting racial hatred” or “concrete danger of the reconstruction of the fascist party.”
Casapound, a neo-fascist party and organiser of both the Ramelli and Acca Larentia commemorations called the ruling “a historic victory.”
Similar commemorations have been occurring throughout Italy, with neo-fascists gathering in Milan to commemorate the murder of Ramelli every year. In 2024, it was estimated over 1,500 people attended the commemoration and performed fascist salutes. Every year, neo-fascists also undertake a “pilgrimage” to Predappio in Emilia-Romagna, Mussolini’s birthplace and burial site, to perform similar rituals. In 2022, shortly after becoming PM, Meloni came under fire for shutting down an illegal rave in Modena (80 miles north-west of Predappio) the same weekend over 2,000 people gathered outside Mussolini’s mausoleum to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the March on Rome, in which the Fascists seized power.
A saga far from over
In August 2024, two separate reports emerged of an organisation linked to Fratelli d’Italia, the National Alliance Foundation, donating tens of thousands of euros to far-right causes. These included financing the buying of the former MSI headquarters on Acca Larentia and funding anti-vaccine research.
Despite Meloni’s sister, Arianna Meloni, and other FdI members being part of the foundation, the FAN denied any connection or financial aid from the FdI. This was met with criticism from opposition MPs, who argued this scandal represented another “link between the leader of Fratelli d’Italia and far-right groups linked to the fascist era.” MEP, Sandro Ruotolo, said, “We are still waiting for the prime minister to declare herself anti-fascist and to ban organisations that invoke fascism.”
In January 2025, a man was arrested at the Acca Larentia memorial for shouting “Long live the resistance”, while passing the ceremony. He criticised the police for arresting him, saying “Instead of arresting the protesters for the apology of fascism, they identify [and arrest] those who invoke the Constitution.” As in the previous year, Meloni refused to comment.
In 2023, Elly Schlein, speaking in the Senate, proclaimed “viva l’Italia antifascista” – long live anti-fascist Italy. Two years later, despite scandals and accusations of neo-fascism, Fratelli d’Italia is still yet to call themselves anti-fascist, let alone ban neo-fascist groups or rallies. As long as Fratelli d’Italia remains in control it seems unlikely that the anti-fascist Italy of the opposition’s dreams will ever come to fruition.