The fascist movement at the centre of Italy's culture war
The media have often fallen for a narrative that suggests Italy is undergoing a fascist revival as far-right forces sweep across Europe. In the run-up to Italys March 2018 general election, the Guardian wrote that CasaPound had brought Mussolini back to the mainstream and a Channel 4 documentary flattered the groups rhetoric of filling in for an absent state. Yet CasaPound's media presence is entirely out of proportion with its electoral support. The group counts just 5,000 members, recently abandoned all efforts to stand in elections, and declared itself a movement, not a party realising that its best prospects lie in working as a satellite of the right-wing Lega Nord party.
Contrary to media reports of a neo-fascist revival, fascism in Italy never really went away. In 1945, the Italian Social Movement (MSI) was founded by veterans of Mussolinis regime. After the end of the Cold War, MSI leaders sought a break with their fascist image. In 19945 MSI leaders Gianni Alemanno and Gianfranco Fini rebranded the party as Alleanza Nazionale a national-conservative force in Silvio Berlusconis coalition. Fascism had undergone a makeover: it had reformed its image, and managed to fold itself into the mainstream.
[link:
https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2019/08/fascist-movement-centre-italy-s-culture-war|
We are seeing this creeping acceptance of the far right everywhere. It is scary shit.