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165-414: ^ B: Some sources consider FdI neo-fascist , and some other sources consider it to be post-fascist . Brothers of Italy ( Italian : Fratelli d'Italia , FdI ) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy , that is currently the country's ruling party. After becoming the largest party in the 2022 Italian general election , it consolidated as one of
330-569: A Eurosceptic position, while being in favour of Atlanticism . While its MEPs were originally affiliated with the European People's Party Group , they left in 2014 and joined the European Conservatives and Reformists in 2019, which has been led by Meloni since 2020. FdI proposes a " confederal Europe" of nations as opposed to a " federal Europe ". In November 2012, Ignazio La Russa and Maurizio Gasparri , leaders of
495-446: A Third Position as an alternative to market capitalism . Allegations that a group is neo-fascist may be hotly contested, especially when the term is used as a political epithet . Some post-World War II regimes have been described as neo-fascist due to their authoritarian nature, and sometimes due to their fascination with and sympathy towards fascist ideology and rituals . According to Jean-Yves Camus and Nicolas Lebourg ,
660-500: A free vote ), as in the case of the referendum on stem-cell research , but leading members of the party, including Silvio Berlusconi , Giulio Tremonti and Marcello Pera (who is himself non-Catholic, although friend of Pope Benedict XVI ), spoke in favour of "abstention" (as asked by the Catholic Church, to not surpass the 50% of turnout needed for making the referendum legally binding). While Pera campaigned hard for
825-535: A snap election that was called after the 2022 Italian government crisis , it was agreed among the centre-right coalition that the leader of the party receiving the most votes would be put forward as the prime minister candidate. As of July 2022, FdI was the first party in the coalition according to opinion polling, and she was widely expected to become Prime Minister of Italy if the centre-right coalition obtained an absolute majority in Parliament, which would be
990-489: A zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration and wants to blockade migrants from reaching Italian ports and boost the birth rate of Italian nationals to ease the need for migrant labour. FdI, frequently described as Eurosceptic , aims at a "confederal Europe" of sovereign nations as opposed to a " federal Europe ", and wants to "re-discuss" European Union treaties and amend Italy's constitution to give Italian law priority over European law, Once in favour of withdrawing from
1155-529: A " Crusade against Communism". Anti- Fidel Castro terrorist Luis Posada Carriles was condemned for the Cubana Flight 455 bombing on 6 October 1976. According to the Miami Herald , this bombing was decided on at the same meeting during which it was decided to target Chilean former minister Orlando Letelier , who was assassinated on 21 September 1976. Carriles wrote in his autobiography that "we
1320-631: A Neofascist party", in the words of political scientist Cas Mudde . At the initiative of the MSI, the European Social Movement was established in 1951 as a pan-European organization of like-minded neo-fascist groups and figures such as the Francoist Falange , Maurice Bardèche , Per Engdahl , and Oswald Mosley . Other organizations like Jeune Nation called in the late 1950s for an extra-parliamentarian insurrection against
1485-523: A bridge between Catholics and non-Catholics, who have been previously divided in the political system of the First Republic, and "the union of three political-cultural areas: that of liberal and popular Catholicism, that of secular, liberal and republican humanism and that of liberal socialism". In a speech during a party congress in 1998, Berlusconi himself proclaimed: "our liberal vision of the State
1650-423: A candidate, FdI removed its symbol from his candidature; he was elected in the single-district constituency of Agrigento , Sicilia with 37.8% of the vote. In one of Rome's single-seat constituencies, Ester Mieli , a former spokesperson of the local Jewish community and granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor , was elected with 37.5% of the vote. In a record-low voter turnout election, exit polls projected that
1815-512: A criminal organization. In October, 2020, the court declared Golden Dawn to be a criminal organization, convicting 68 members of various crimes including murder. However, far-right politics continue to be strong in Greece, such as Ilias Kasidiaris ' National Party – Greeks , an Ultranationalist party. In 2021, Greek neo-Nazi youth attacked a rival group at a school in Greece. Italy was broadly divided into two political blocs following World War II:
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#17327945641241980-452: A curious and, on many respects, untold mixture of 'liberalism' and 'democratic populism ' – deserves to be described as an 'anti-ideological ideology', ... as a synthesis or fusion of very diverse political families and traditions (from liberal Catholicism to social conservatism , from reformist socialism to economic liberalism ), kept together by the mobilizing appeal to 'freedom'." Chiara Moroni , who explains Forza Italia's ideology as
2145-566: A direct apology to fascism by performing the Roman salute in an appearance on the national radio network. The National Reorganization Process is also considered a neo-fascist or fascist dictatorship. The Brazilian government of Jair Bolsonaro is cited as the rising point of neo-fascism in South America in the 21st century, based on the denial of science, bellicose rhetoric and authoritarian measures that withdraw rights from
2310-447: A group, but a person would be specifically named as a danger who just happened to be a Jew. The public presentation of their leaders is one principal difference between the neo-fascists and historical fascists: their programs have been "finely honed and 'modernized'" to appeal to the electorate, a "far-right ideology with a democratic veneer". Modern neo-fascists do not appear in "jackboots and brownshirts", but in suits and ties. The choice
2475-588: A larger party, including FdI, which retained the use of AN's name and symbol, while Alemanno announced that he would create a Movement for the United Right. In November 2015, it was announced that the party would undergo a new process of enlargement and that a new political committee, named Our Land (TN), would be launched by January 2016. TN would comprise FdI, along with other right-wing politicians, notably including Cossiga (former deputy of FI and founding member of FdI), Alberto Giorgetti (a deputy of FI, who
2640-495: A mixture of liberal, Christian-democratic and social-democratic values (united in the concept of "popular liberalism" in party documents), wrote that "Berlusconi offered to voters liberal values through a populist style" and that "Forza Italia has made the liberal political ideal popular" among voters, so that "it was spread and shared by broad and heterogenous sectors of the Italian population". The electoral base of Forza Italia
2805-651: A movement known as the Golden Dawn , widely considered a neo-Nazi party, soared in support out of obscurity and won seats in Greece 's parliament, espousing a staunch hostility towards minorities, illegal immigrants and refugees. In 2013, after the murder of an anti-fascist musician by a person with links to Golden Dawn, the Greek government ordered the arrest of Golden Dawn's leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos and other Golden Dawn members on charges related to being associated with
2970-585: A new coalition called House of Freedoms (CdL) and composed mainly of the National Alliance, Lega Nord, Christian Democratic Centre and United Christian Democrats (the last two parties merged in 2002 to form the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats , UDC). In June 2001, after the huge success in May elections, Silvio Berlusconi was returned head of the Italian government, the longest-serving cabinet in
3135-463: A rejection of rational arguments against this interpretation; and an appeal to the majority based on race and masculinity ". According to some opinion writers, Hindutva shows ethno-nationalism and hyper-militarism similar to Revisionist Zionism and Kahanism . Adolf Hitler 's propaganda which advocated the hegemony of "Greater Germany" inspired similar ideas of "Indonesia Mulia" (esteemed Indonesia ) and "Indonesia Raya" (great Indonesia) in
3300-549: A right-wing split within The People of Freedom (PdL) party. The bulk of FdI's membership (including Meloni, who has led the party since 2014), and its symbol, the tricolour flame, hail from the post-fascist National Alliance (AN), which was established in 1995 and merged into PdL in 2009. AN was the successor to the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a neo-fascist party active from 1946 to 1995. However, FdI
3465-698: A second meeting that same year in Zürich to set up a second group pledged to wage war on communists and non- white people . Several Cold War regimes and international neo-fascist movements collaborated in operations such as assassinations and false flag bombings. Stefano Delle Chiaie , who was involved in Italy's Years of Lead , took part in Operation Condor ; organizing the 1976 assassination attempt on Chilean Christian Democrat Bernardo Leighton . Vincenzo Vinciguerra escaped to Franquist Spain with
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#17327945641243630-534: A series of reforms: a pension system reform, a labour market reform, a judiciary reform and a constitutional reform – the latter rejected by a referendum in June 2006. In foreign policy he shifted the country's position to more closeness to the United States, while in economic policy he was not able to deliver the tax cuts he had openly promised throughout all 2001 electoral campaign. In the 2006 general election
3795-497: A serious blow for the party, which however remained strong in the northern regions , such as Lombardy and Veneto , and somewhere in the South , where Sicily was a stronghold. After this disappointing electoral performance the cabinet was reshuffled, due to the insistence of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 's leaders, and Berlusconi formed his third cabinet . During his five years in office, Berlusconi government passed
3960-472: A short life and fell in December, when Lega Nord left the coalition, after disagreements over pension reform and the first avviso di garanzia (preliminary notice of an investigation) for Berlusconi, passed by Milan prosecutors. Forza Italia's leader was replaced as prime minister by Lamberto Dini , an independent politician who had been the administration's Treasury Minister. No members of Forza Italia joined
4125-531: A social market economy. A democracy cannot afford citizens in poor conditions. With our book on welfare we tackle the needs of the weakest families. It is decidedly a left-wing policy. This government which centrist, liberal, with Catholics and reformists, intends to advance with policies that the left-wing promises by word of mouth. Sandro Bondi , a leading member of the party, wrote: Forza Italia considers liberal classics as Croce , Sturzo , Hayek and Einaudi as reference authors. In particular, it hark back to
4290-523: A successful five-party coalition called Pentapartito from 1983 to 1991, and then governed without PRI from 1991 to 1994) and to the end of the so-called First Republic . Forza Italia's aim was to attract moderate voters who were "disoriented, political orphans and who risked being unrepresented" (as Berlusconi described them), especially if the Democratic Party of the Left (the direct heirs of
4455-551: A wide range of far-right ideas, from neoreactionaries to white nationalists —is often included under the umbrella term "neo-fascist", because alt-right individuals and organizations advocate a radical form of authoritarian ultranationalism . Brenton Harrison Tarrant , the Australian perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch , New Zealand ,
4620-404: Is a left-wing stronghold, due to its alliance with the autonomist South Tyrolean People's Party ). The incumbent Berlusconi-led government narrowly lost to The Union coalition, which returned Romano Prodi as prime minister, relegating Forza Italia and its House of Freedoms allies to opposition. On 31 July 2007 Berlusconi's protegee and possible successor Michela Vittoria Brambilla registered
4785-569: Is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism . Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism , ultraconservatism , racial supremacy , right-wing populism , authoritarianism , nativism , xenophobia , and anti-immigration sentiment, sometimes with economic liberal issues, as well as opposition to social democracy , parliamentarianism , Marxism , capitalism , communism , and socialism (sometimes are opposed to liberalism and liberal democracy ). As with classical fascism, it occasionally proposes
4950-884: Is a power bloc made up of non-fascist conservatives and far-right neo-fascists; although still without the support of the broad and fanatical mass movement which was the basis of European fascism. Groups which are identified as neo-fascist in the United States generally include neo-Nazi organizations and movements such as the Proud Boys , the National Alliance , and the American Nazi Party . The Institute for Historical Review publishes negationist historical papers which are often of an antisemitic nature. The alt-right —a loosely connected coalition of individuals and organizations which advocates
5115-597: Is considered fascist by some analysts because of its engagement in Islamic extremism . The National Socialism Association (NSA) is a neo-fascist political organization founded in Taiwan in September 2006 by Hsu Na-chi (許娜琦), a 22-year-old female political science graduate of Soochow University . The NSA views Adolf Hitler as its leader and often uses the slogan "Long live Hitler". This has brought them condemnation from
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5280-492: Is deliberate, as the leaders of the various groups work to differentiate themselves from the brutish leaders of historical fascism and also to hide whatever bloodlines and connections tie the current leaders to the historical fascist movements. When these become public, as they did in the case of Haider, it can lead to their decline and fall. In 1951, the New European Order (NEO) neo-fascist European-wide alliance
5445-425: Is home also to several former Christian Democrats and half of its ministers are not former MSI members. According to Meloni and leading members, FdI is a mainstream conservative party. Academics and observers have variously described it as conservative, national-conservative, right-wing populist, social-conservative , nationalist , neo-fascist , post-fascist , nativist and anti-immigrant . The party espouses
5610-726: Is not just a slogan." For the 2019 European Parliament election , FdI recruited several candidates, including five outgoing MEPs (two of Direction Italy, plus three more recent splinters from FI: Fabrizio Bertot , Stefano Maullu , and Elisabetta Gardini ), other former FI politicians ( Alfredo Antoniozzi and Monica Stefania Baldi), and sociologist Francesco Alberoni . FdI obtained 6.4% of the vote (10.3% in Calabria , 9.0% in Lazio, 8.9% in Apulia , and 8.4% in Basilicata ) and five MEPs. For
5775-478: Is perfectly in agreement with the Catholic social teaching". The "Secular Creed" of the party explains that FI was a party that primarily underlined freedom and the centrality of the individual, which are basic principles of both liberalism and the Catholic social teaching, often connected in party official documents: We believe in freedom, in all its several and vital forms: in the freedom of thought, in
5940-416: Is possible to distinguish some patterns. The party was divided over ethical (between social conservatives and progressives), economic (between social democrats and some Christian democrats on one side and liberals on the other one), and institutional issues. Regarding the latter issue, generally speaking, northern party members were staunch proposers of political and fiscal federalism , and autonomy for
6105-659: The National Herald , the mouthpiece of the Indian National Congress party, stated that "it [RSS] seems to embody Hinduism in a Nazi form" with the recommendation that it must be ended. Similarly, in 1956, another Congress party leader compared Jana Sangh to the Nazis in Germany. After the 1940s and 1950s, a number of scholars have labelled or compared Hindutva to fascism. Marzia Casolari has linked
6270-546: The 2014 European Parliament election in Italy , despite opposition from the Movement for National Alliance alternative front composed of The Right , Future and Freedom , Tricolour Flame , I the South , and New Alliance , as well as the former members of AN who had joined FI like senators Maurizio Gasparri and Altero Matteoli . In February 2014, the party organised a primary in which members and supporters agreed to change
6435-576: The 2022 Italian general election , in which FdI became the first party, have been variously described as Italy's first far-right-led government in the republican era and its most right-wing government since World War II. The Russia-Ukraine war has divided the Italian far right , including neo-fascists, into three clusters: the pro-Western and Atlanticist extreme right (e.g. CasaPound ), nostalgic and pro-Putin neo-fascism ( New Force ), and an ideologically evolving collection of National Bolshevik and Eurasianist militants. Recent studies have studied
6600-542: The 2022 Italian government formation on 20–21 October, Meloni accepted the task of forming a new government and announced the Meloni government , which assumed official functions after each ministers were sworn in on 22 October. It was variously described as a shift to the political right , and the first far-right -led coalition, as well as its first far-right leader, since the Second World War. Other than Meloni,
6765-458: The 2022 Italian presidential election on 24–29 January, FdI voted Carlo Nordio when all the other main parties proposed a re-election of incumbent president Sergio Mattarella . In April 2022, the party organised a large convention in Milan , to discuss its political program and start the campaign for the next general election. Heading into the 2022 Italian general election rising in the polls,
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6930-414: The 2024 European Parliament election , Meloni led the party in all five constituencies, after presenting the event as a vote of confidence on her leadership and government. Differently from other parties, FdI privileged party stalwarts over signature candidates. A rare exception was the inclusion of Vittorio Sgarbi , whose candidacy would not succeed. FdI came in first place in the election, winning 28.9% of
7095-596: The Catholic social teaching and the social market economy . The party was a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and presented itself as the party of renewal and modernization. The core values of Forza Italia were " freedom " and the " centrality of the individual ". From a comparative perspective the ideology of Forza Italia has been characterized as liberal conservative, or conservative liberal , national conservative, and liberal. Alessandro Campi has written that "the political culture of Forza Italia –
7260-702: The Christian Democrats , who remained in power until the 1990s, and the Italian Communist Party (PCI), which was very strong immediately after the war and achieved a large consensus during the 1970s. With the beginning of the Cold War , the American and British governments turned a blind eye to the refusal of Italian authorities to honor requested extraditions of Italian war criminals to Yugoslavia , which they feared would benefit
7425-933: The Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Likud in Israel, and the Republican Party in the United States, where Meloni has been a guest at the CPAC Conference in February 2022. FdI had several organised internal factions, including a minor liberal-conservative faction. It has also been stated that some internal wings of the party have ties to the neo-fascism movement. Factions include: Alemanno and Poli Bortone left FdI, along with their factions, in December 2014 and April 2015, respectively. In December 2019, Alemanno returned through
7590-707: The Constitutional Court of Serbia . Earlier, on 18 June 1990, Vojislav Šešelj organized the Serbian Chetnik Movement (SČP) though it was not permitted official registration due to its obvious Chetnik identification. On 23 February 1991, it merged with the National Radical Party (NRS), establishing the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) with Šešelj as president and Tomislav Nikolić as vice president. It
7755-536: The European Conservatives and Reformists Party , she said she shared the experiences and values of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Likud in Israel, and the Republican Party in the United States. In the run-up to the election, several politicians previously affiliated with Berlusconi's FI joined the FdI electoral lists. Notably, they included Giulio Tremonti (ex- PSI and ex-FI, former finance minister), Marcello Pera (ex-PSI and ex-FI, former president of
7920-525: The International Democracy Union . Defunct Academics and political commentators have variously described FdI's political position as right-wing , radical right , as well as far-right . The party has been characterised as conservative , national-conservative , conservative-sovereign, right-wing populist , social-conservative , nationalist , neo-fascist , post-fascist , nativist and anti-immigrant . Although FdI rejects
8085-419: The Italian Communist Party ) had been able to win the next election and enter in government for the first time since 1947. The establishment of Forza Italia was supported in terms of finance, personnel and logistics by Berlusconi's Fininvest corporation: The area managers of its advertisement branch Publitalia '80 (managed by Dell'Utri) organised the selection of FI candidates, its marketing network staffed
8250-595: The Marshall Plan , along with the French Communist Party (PCF). In 1946, a group of Italian fascist soldiers founded the Italian Social Movement (MSI) to continue advocating the ideas of Benito Mussolini . The leader of the MSI was Giorgio Almirante , who remained at the head of the party until his death in 1988. Despite attempts in the 1970s towards a " historic compromise " between the PCI and
8415-555: The Mussolini family have run for FdI, such as Rachele Mussolini , granddaughter of Mussolini, for the City Council of Rome , and Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini, great-grandson of Mussolini, for the 2019 European Parliament election . In 2019, academic Đorđe Sredanović placed FdI, along with the neo-fascist parties CasaPound (a split from Tricolour Flame , which refused to join the National Alliance ) and New Force (FN) from
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#17327945641248580-771: The Protagonist Right , a faction within The People of Freedom (PdL), announced their support for Angelino Alfano in the party primary scheduled for December. The subsequent cancellation of the primary was not agreed with by La Russa and many others in the party. On 16 December 2012, Giorgia Meloni , Fabio Rampelli , Guido Crosetto , and Giuseppe Cossiga organised in Rome the Primaries of Ideas, in which they openly criticised Silvio Berlusconi 's leadership and any possible prospect of an electoral alliance with Prime Minister Mario Monti , proposed by some leading factions of
8745-647: The Regional Council of Lombardy , and the Senate of the Republic . Carlo Fidanza and Marco Scurria , MEPs in the European People's Party group , also joined the party. In the 2013 Italian general election , the party obtained 2.0% of the vote and won nine seats in the Chamber of Deputies . On 5 March 2013, the party's executive board appointed La Russa president, Crosetto coordinator, and Meloni leader in
8910-657: The Simon Wiesenthal Center , an international Jewish human rights centre. Informational notes Citations Bibliography Further reading Forza Italia Forza Italia ( FI ; lit. ' Forward Italy ' or ' Come on Italy ' or ' Let's Go Italy ' ) was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy , with Christian democratic , liberal (especially economic liberalism ), social democratic and populist tendencies. It
9075-653: The Slovak National Uprising , NATO , the United States , and the European Union . The party also endorses the clerical fascist war criminal and former Slovak President Jozef Tiso . In 2003, Kotleba founded the far-right political party Slovak Community (Slovak: Slovenská Pospolitosť ). In 2007, the Slovak interior ministry banned the party from running and campaigning in elections. In spite of this ban, Kotleba's party got 8.04% of votes in
9240-552: The Terza Posizione tradition, in the post-fascist/neo-fascist categories. In October 2021, FdI distanced itself from FN after they violently assaulted the labour union Italian General Confederation of Labour 's headquarters; the party abstained on a parliamentary motion to ban FN while condemning "all totalitarianisms ". A December 2021 investigation by Fanpage.it on allegations of money laundering and illicit campaign financing also revealed FdI had ties with neo-Nazis in
9405-584: The Union of the Centre ( Magdi Allam and Luciano Ciocchetti), and a former member of the LN (Oreste Rossi). Alemanno's Italy First and Urso's FareItalia were to join FdI by February 2014. In December 2013, the National Alliance Foundation, the association in charge of administering the assets of the defunct party, authorised FdI, supported by Alemanno and Urso, to use the logo of AN in
9570-596: The Weimar Republic to obtain power, although it took an anti-democratic but constitutional process in the form of presidential appointment rather than election through the Reichstag. Others point to the current neo-fascists not being totalitarian in nature, but the organization of their parties along the lines of the Führerprinzip would seem to indicate otherwise. Historian Stanley G. Payne claims that
9735-435: The aestheticization of politics and by using the narcissism of small differences to find a target for hate to exploit in order to maintain a social hierarchy instead of protecting all individuals. A number of historians and political scientists have pointed out that the situations in a number of European countries in the 1980s and 1990s, in particular France, Germany and Italy, were in some significant ways analogous to
9900-667: The centre-right party The People of Freedom in 2009. Neo-fascist parties in Italy include the Tricolour Flame ( Fiamma Tricolore ), the New Force ( Forza Nuova ), the National Social Front ( Fronte Sociale Nazionale ), and CasaPound . The national-conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI), main heirs of MSI and AN, has been described as neo-fascist by several academics, and it has some neo-fascist factions within their internal organization. The results of
10065-482: The economic interventionism of Social Right and the economic liberalism of Reaganomics , advocating tax cuts and workfare schemes. In opposition, the party advocated more protectionist measures. In regards to social issues, the party opposes euthanasia and abortion . It also has been described as being strictly "anti-gay marriage" and supporting the "traditional family unit". The party collaborates with anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ movements. FdI calls for
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#173279456412410230-433: The eurozone , the party abandoned the idea. Prior to the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the party was in favour of better relations with Russia while maintaining a pro- NATO stance. Since then, it has condemned the invasion and promised to send arms to Ukraine, and Meloni moved the party towards Atlantism . Besides being a leading member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party , FdI has ties with
10395-517: The social market economy of Röpke , which was conceived in reference to the traditional social teaching of the Church . Forza Italia has imparted a deep cultural innovation, combining the language of the Church tradition with the liberal and reformist thought. The party included also non- Catholic members, but they were a minority, and it was less secular in its policies than Christian Democratic Union of Germany. The party usually gave to its members freedom of conscience on moral issues (and hence
10560-412: The "neo-fascist" label, it has been applied due to the party's history dating back to the Italian Social Movement (MSI), its far-right ties, its appeal to neo-fascist themes on social media like Facebook , and some party leaders' nostalgia for Italian fascism , including Roman salutes . Some party members have celebrated Benito Mussolini , with fascist memorabilia in some local offices. Some members of
10725-544: The "old" parties, mainly DC and PSI, who defected to the new party, bringing their local clientele with them. FI's political programme was strongly influenced by the manifesto "In Search of Good Government" (Alla ricerca del buongoverno) authored in late 1993 by Giuliano Urbani who was then a political science professor at Milan's private Bocconi University and an occasional collaborator of Fininvest. It denounced corruption, dominance of political parties and remnants of communism as Italy's ills, while advocating market economy,
10890-464: The (old) elites, a typical element of populist ideologies. However, Berlusconi viewed "the people" as a pluralistic and diverse collection of individuals, not an ethnically, historically and culturally homogeneous unit. Most members of the party were former Christian Democrats (DC): Giuseppe Pisanu (former member of the leftist faction of DC and Minister of Interior), Roberto Formigoni (President of Lombardy ), Claudio Scajola (former Minister of
11055-433: The 1980 Bologna railway bombing . In 1987, the reins of the MSI party were taken by Gianfranco Fini , under whom in 1995 it was dissolved and transformed into the National Alliance (AN). The party led by Fini distanced itself from Mussolini and fascism and made efforts to improve its relations with the Jewish community, becoming a conservative right-wing party until its merger with Silvio Berlusconi 's Forza Italia into
11220-399: The Bolsonarism, the different wings (military, ideological, religious, capital, etc.) present pragmatic disagreements, strategies, objectives and distinct methods. The core of this Brazilian neo-fascism converged its interests and rhetoric with Pentecostal religious fundamentalism and both allied themselves with military sectors and liberal think tanks , so that within bolsonarism there
11385-734: The Chamber of Deputies the party's vote of no confidence for Enrico Letta 's government, supported by PD, PdL, and Civic Choice . In September 2013, FdI launched "Workshop for Italy" ( Officina per l'Italia , abbr. OpI), a political initiative aimed at broadening the party's base. The newly formed OpI's political committee, led by Cossiga, included, among others, former minister of Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata , former members of AN (notably including Gianni Alemanno , Mario Landolfi , Sergio Berlato , Adolfo Urso , and Souad Sbai ), former members of FI (including former Socialists like Giulio Tremonti and Antonio Guidi , and former Christian Democrats like Fabio Garagnani), former members of
11550-415: The Chamber of Deputies. During the 2013 Italian presidential election 's fourth ballot on 19 April, FdI decided to support Franco Marini , a Democratic Party (PD) member supported also by PdL and Lega Nord (LN). Following the unsuccessful outcome of the vote, FdI started voting for colonel Sergio De Caprio, known for having arrested Sicilian Mafia boss Salvatore Riina . On 29 April, Meloni announced in
11715-583: The Christian Democracy party; while in the South most leading members of Forza Italia are former Christian Democrats, the party was highly influenced also by liberals in the North. Forza Italia claimed to be a fresh new party, with no ties with the last governments of the so-called First Republic , and at the same time to be the heir of the best political traditions of Italy: Christian Democrat Alcide De Gasperi , Social Democrat Giuseppe Saragat , Liberal Luigi Einaudi and Republican Ugo La Malfa were considered as party icons. The "Secular Creed", that
11880-740: The Cubans didn't oppose ourselves to an isolated tyranny, nor to a particular system of our fatherland, but that we had in front of us a colossal enemy, whose main head was in Moscow, with its tentacles dangerously extended on all the planet." In Finland, neo-fascism is often connected to the 1930s and 1940s fascist and pro-Nazi Patriotic People's Movement (IKL), its youth movement Blues-and-Blacks and its predecessor Lapua Movement . Post-war fascist groups such as Patriotic People's Movement (1993) , Patriotic Popular Front , Patriotic National Movement , Blue-and-Black Movement and many others consciously copy
12045-573: The DC, the PCI did not have a role in executive power until the 1980s. In December 1970, Junio Valerio Borghese attempted, along with Stefano Delle Chiaie, the Borghese Coup which was supposed to install a neo-fascist regime. Neo-fascist groups took part in various false flag terrorist attacks, starting with the December 1969 Piazza Fontana massacre , for which Vincenzo Vinciguerra was convicted, and they are usually considered to have stopped with
12210-742: The European Parliament (MEPs), including former party leader Nick Griffin . Other British organisations described as fascist or neo-fascist include the National Front , Combat 18 , the English Defence League , and Britain First . In Argentina, a notable advocate of neo-fascism was president María Estela Martínez de Perón , who applied anti-communist policies under the fascist police organization Triple A and economic market opening policies. Perón made
12375-595: The European Parliament, opening the way for a pact with other minor conservative parties in Italy, notably including Raffaele Fitto 's Direction Italy . On 29 October 2019, Direction Italy officially merged into FdI, and on 7 December 2019 the National Movement for Sovereignty of Roberto Menia and Gianni Alemanno merged into FdI. In 2020, other minor right-wing parties, such as Gabriella Peluso's Protagonist South and Lorenzo Loiacono's Right Bank, also merged into FdI. Party member Marco Marsilio won 48.0% of
12540-674: The Hungarian minority is also present, especially in Transylvania . Other nationalistic and irredentist groups such as the Greater Romania Party do not originate from Legionarism, but in fact grew out of national communist tendencies from the era of Nicolae Ceaușescu (the party was founded by his "court poet" Corneliu Vadim Tudor ). The Romanian Hearth Union (UVR), which had around 4 million supporters in 1992, has been described as neofascist. Its political branch
12705-551: The Interior and of Industry), Enrico La Loggia , Renato Schifani , Guido Crosetto , Raffaele Fitto , Giuseppe Gargani , Alfredo Antoniozzi , Giorgio Carollo , Giuseppe Castiglione , Francesco Giro , Luigi Grillo , Maurizio Lupi , Mario Mantovani , Mario Mauro , Osvaldo Napoli , Antonio Palmieri , Angelo Sanza , Riccardo Ventre and Marcello Vernola are only some remarkable examples. Several members were former Socialists (PSI), as Giulio Tremonti (vice-president of
12870-743: The Legion of the Archangel Michael. There are some modern political organisations which consider themselves heirs of Legionarism, this includes Noua Dreaptă and the Everything For the Country Party , founded by former Iron Guard members. The latter organisation was outlawed in 2015. Aside, from these Romanian organisations, the Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement representing ultra-nationalism from
13035-548: The MNS. In June 2024, a Fanpage.it journalist infiltrated a Roman section of the party's youth organisation " National Youth ". The resulting investigation showed how militants frequently use the Nazi slogan "Sieg Heil", make fascist salutes and praise Benito Mussolini . The organisation is said to have a policy of masking all these aspects publicly, while in private they are tolerated and promoted. Neo-fascist Neo-fascism
13200-539: The Milan party section. Meloni told Corriere della Sera there were no "nostalgic fascists, racists or antisemites in the Brothers of Italy DNA" and that she had always got rid of "ambiguous people", and in other interviews she said there was no place for fascist nostalgia in FdI. Critics have been sceptical, citing Meloni's speeches on immigration and LGBT rights. On economic issues, the party takes inspiration from both
13365-707: The PCI. With no event such as the Nuremberg trials taking place for Italian war crimes, the collective memory of the crimes committed by Italian fascists was excluded from public media, from textbooks in Italian schools, and even from the academic discourse on the Western side of the Iron Curtain throughout the Cold War. The PCI was expelled from power in May 1947, a month before the Paris Conference on
13530-768: The PdL was agreed with Berlusconi to better represent the Italian right and offer an appealing choice to right-wing voters. Simultaneously, Crosetto and Meloni announced the formation of "Brothers of Italy", whose name was taken from the first line of the Italian national anthem . On 21 December, the two groups, formed mainly by former members of National Alliance such as La Russa, Meloni, Rampelli, Massimo Corsaro, Viviana Beccalossi, and Alfredo Mantica , joined forces as "Brothers of Italy – National Centre-right", usually shortened to Brothers of Italy (FdI). La Russa's followers soon formed their own groups in most regional councils, starting with
13695-578: The Region in Piedmont ( Enzo Ghigo ), Lombardy ( Roberto Formigoni ), and Veneto ( Giancarlo Galan ), together with three more elected for the first time in Liguria ( Sandro Biasotti ), Apulia ( Raffaele Fitto ) and Calabria ( Giuseppe Chiaravalloti ). The party regained power in the general election of 2001 , gaining 29.4% of the votes with Giorgio La Malfa 's tiny Italian Republican Party , in
13860-608: The Regions (in some parts of Veneto and Lombardy , it was sometimes difficult to distinguish a member of FI from a member of the LN ), while those coming from the South were more cold on the issue. Also some former Liberals , due to their role of unifiers of Italy in the 19th century, were more centralist. A scheme of the internal factions within Forza Italia could be this: Christian democrats and liberal-centrists were undoubtedly
14025-606: The Senate), Antonio Guidi (ex-PSI and ex-FI, former family and social solidarity minister), Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata (former foreign affairs minister, honorary president of the PRT ), Carlo Nordio (former prosecutor, member of the PLI ), and Eugenia Roccella (a former Radical and feminist who later turned into a conservative feminist ), among others. A general election candidate was sacked after praising Adolf Hitler . While he remained
14190-502: The Slovak 2016 parliamentary elections. As of December 2022, voter support has dropped significantly to about 3.1%, under the 5% threshold required to enter parliament. Grey Wolves is a Turkish ultranationalist and neo-fascist youth organization. It is the "unofficial militant arm" of the Nationalist Movement Party . The Grey Wolves have been accused of terrorism . According to Turkish authorities,
14355-454: The State. We believe that the State should be the servant of the citizen and not the citizen the servant of the State. The citizen is sovereign. For this, we believe concretely in the individual ... . We believe in the values of our Christian tradition, in the life values which cannot be renounced, in common good, in freedom of education and learning, in peace, in solidarity, in justice, in tolerance ... . In 2008 Berlusconi stated that: We want
14520-469: The anti-immigrant impetus is strong when the economy is weak or unemployment is high, and people fear that outsiders are taking their jobs. Because of this, neo-fascist parties have more electoral traction during hard economic times. Again, this mirrors the situation in the interwar years, when, for instance, Germany suffered from incredible hyperinflation and many people had their life savings swept away. In contemporary Europe, mainstream political parties see
14685-463: The assertion of civil society and more efficient politics as the solutions. In a couple of months Forza Italia became one of the leading Italian parties, achieving a large consensus through an accurate strategy of communication and pounding electoral spots aired by the Mediaset TV channels. A few months after its creation, Forza Italia came to national power after the 1994 general election as
14850-580: The association and the borrowing of pre-World War II European nationalist ideas by early leaders of Hindutva ideology. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations , the term Hindutva has "fascist undertones". Many scholars have pointed out that early Hindutva ideologues were inspired by fascist movements in early 20th-century Italy and Germany. The Indian Marxist economist and political commentator Prabhat Patnaik calls Hindutva "almost fascist in
15015-488: The beginning of neo-fascism as a new fascist movement. Because intense nationalism is almost always a part of neo-fascism, the parties which make up this movement are not pan-European, but are specific to each country they arise in; other than this, the neo-fascist parties and other groups have many ideological traits in common. While certainly fascistic in nature, it is claimed by some that there are differences between neo-fascism and what can be called "historical fascism", or
15180-416: The centre-right coalition would win a majority of seats in the 2022 general election. Meloni was projected to be the winner of the election with FdI receiving a plurality of seats, and per agreement with the centre-right coalition, which held that the largest party in the coalition would nominate the next prime minister, she is the favourite to become Prime Minister and would be the country's first woman to hold
15345-530: The classical sense". He states that the Hindutva movement is based on "class support, methods and programme". According to Patnaik, Hindutva has the following fascist ingredients: "an attempt to create a unified homogeneous majority under the concept of "the Hindus"; a sense of grievance against past injustice; a sense of cultural superiority; an interpretation of history according to this grievance and superiority;
15510-463: The conditions in Europe in the period between World War I and World War II that gave rise to fascism in its many national guises. Constant economic crises including high unemployment, a resurgence of nationalism, an increase in ethnic conflicts, and the geo-political weakness of national regimes were all present, and while not an exact one-to-one correspondence, circumstances were similar enough to promote
15675-465: The containment of political conflicts, after the hyper-politisation of Italian society during the "First Republic") and the identification of a "new virtuous elite". The concepts of a good civil society and hypopolitics were both liberal and populist; while the minimal state was a mainly liberal idea and the new virtuous elite a chiefly populist one. According to Orsina, Berlusconism sanctified "the people" that embodied all virtues while being "betrayed" by
15840-562: The cooperation with other parties within the democratic system. In the political context of the Cold War, anti-communism began to replace anti-fascism as the dominant trend in liberal democracies. In Italy, the MSI became a support group in parliament for the Christian Democratic government in the late 1950s–early 1960s, but was forced back into "political ghetto" after anti-fascist protests and violent street clashes occurred between radical leftist and far-right groups, leading to
16005-472: The course of time, moderate their positions in order to achieve electoral victory. The problem of immigrants, both legal and illegal or irregular, whether called "foreigners", "foreign workers", "economic refugees", "ethnic minorities", "asylum seekers", or "aliens", is a core neo-fascist issue, intimately tied to their nativism, ultranationalism, and xenophobia, but the specifics differ somewhat from country to country due to prevailing circumstances. In general,
16170-548: The demise of the short-lived fascist-backed Tambroni Cabinet in July 1960. According to psychologist David Pavón-Cuéllar of the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo , the emergence of neoliberalism in the late-twentieth century prompted neoliberalist politicians to utilize neo-fascism by authoritatively removing all limits to capital (including labor laws , social rights and tariffs ), through
16335-407: The desert", something that could have proved fatal for such a young and unstructured party. Between 1996 and 1998, the party started to strengthen its organisation under Claudio Scajola , a former Christian Democrat who served as national coordinator of Forza Italia from 1996 to 2001. In December 1999, Forza Italia gained full membership in the European People's Party , of which Antonio Tajani ,
16500-522: The differences in current circumstance to that of the interwar years, and the strengthening of democracy in European countries since the end of the war prevents a general return of historical fascism, and causes true neo-fascist groups to be small and remain on the fringe. For Payne, groups like the National Front in France are not neo-fascists in nature, but are merely "right radical parties" that will, in
16665-404: The electoral advantage the neo-fascist and far-right parties get from their strong emphasis on the supposed problem of the outsider, and are then tempted to co-opt the issue by moving somewhat to the right on the immigrant issue, hoping to slough off some voters from the hard right. In the absence in post-war Europe of a strong socialist movement, this has the tendency to move the political centre to
16830-697: The expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema , and his allies. Malema and the party have frequently courted controversy for engaging in anti-White and anti-Indian racism . In November 2019, the Professor of International Relations at University of the Witwatersrand , Vishwas Satgar, defined them as a manifestation of a new phenomena, 'Black Neofascism'. The Hindutva ideology of organisations such as RSS have long been compared to fascism or Nazism . An editorial published on 4 February 1948, for example, in
16995-699: The former Dutch colony . The first fascist party was the Partai Fasis Indonesia (PFI). Sukarno admired Nazi Germany under Hitler and its vision of happiness for all: "It's in the Third Reich that the Germans will see Germany at the apex above other nations in this world," he said in 1963. He stated that Hitler was 'extraordinarily clever' in 'depicting his ideals': he spoke about Hitler's rhetorical skills, but denied any association with Nazism as an ideology, saying that Indonesian nationalism
17160-404: The freedom of expression, in religious freedom, of every religion, in the freedom of association. ... Freedom is not graciously conceded by the State, because it comes before it. It is a natural right, which belongs to us as we are human beings and it itself rather lays the foundations of the State. ... We believe that the State should be at the service of citizens, and not citizens at the service of
17325-685: The geopolitical role of Italian neofascism with some groups participating with CIA-backing in the Strategy of Tension during the Cold War where terrorists actions were aimed to keep Italy in NATO and prevent the Communist Party from coming to power In Romania, the ultra-nationalist movement which allied itself with the Axis powers and German National Socialism was the Iron Guard , also known as
17490-656: The government included 9 FdI ministers, notably including Nordio at Justice, Crosetto at Defense, and Urso at Economic Development. The Meloni government successfully won the confidence votes on 25–26 October with a comfortable majority in both houses of the Italian Parliament . During the annual party convention, named after Michael Ende 's character Atreju , which took place in December 2023, international guests included British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak , Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama , Spanish right-wing leader Santiago Abascal and businessman Elon Musk . In
17655-498: The head of a political coalition called Pole of Freedoms / Pole of Good Government , composed of Lega Nord , National Alliance , Christian Democratic Centre and Union of the Centre . Silvio Berlusconi was sworn in May 1994 as Prime Minister of Italy in a government in which the most important cabinet posts were held by fellow Forza Italia members: Antonio Martino was Foreign Minister, Cesare Previti Defence Minister, Alfredo Biondi Justice Minister and Giulio Tremonti (at
17820-638: The help of the SISMI , following the 1972 Peteano attack, for which he was sentenced to life. Along with Delle Chiaie, Vinciguerra testified in Rome in December 1995 before judge María Servini de Cubría , stating that Enrique Arancibia Clavel (a former Chilean secret police agent prosecuted for crimes against humanity in 2004) and US expatriate DINA agent Michael Townley were directly involved in General Carlos Prats ' assassination. Michael Townley
17985-475: The historical experience of fascism between 1919 and 1942, unfolded in several phases; and finally neo-fascism from 1942 onward. Drawing inspiration from the Italian Social Republic , institutional neo-fascism took the form of the Italian Social Movement (MSI). It became one of the chief reference points for the European far-right until the late 1980s, and "the best (and only) example of
18150-442: The history of the Italian republic. Again all key ministerial posts were given to Forza Italia members: Interior ( Claudio Scajola 2001–2002, Giuseppe Pisanu 2002–2006), Defence ( Antonio Martino 2001–2006), Finance ( Giulio Tremonti , 2001–2004 and 2005–2006), Industry ( Antonio Marzano 2001–2005, Claudio Scajola 2005–2006) and Foreign Affairs ( Franco Frattini , 2002–2004). Additionally, National Alliance leader Gianfranco Fini
18315-429: The initial phase, both elements were represented about equally, only after 2000 pro-market liberal positions had receded in favour of more socially conservative ones. As the main ideologic themes of Berlusconism , Orsina identified the myth of the "good" civil society (as opposed to the state apparatus), a "friendly, minimal state " (providing services to citizens rather than regulating their lives), "hypopolitics" (i.e.
18480-417: The kind of neo-fascism which came about in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Some historians claim that contemporary neo-fascist parties are not anti-democratic because they operate within their country's political system. Whether that is a significant difference between neo-fascism and historical fascism is doubted by other scholars, who point out that Hitler worked within the existing political system of
18645-473: The main private television stations in Italy, along with Antonio Martino , Mario Valducci [ it ] , Antonio Tajani , Marcello Dell'Utri , Cesare Previti and Giuliano Urbani . Italy was shaken by a series of corruption scandals known as Tangentopoli and the subsequent police investigation, called Mani pulite . This led to the disappearance of the five parties which governed Italy from 1947: DC , PSI , PSDI , PLI and PRI (they formed
18810-529: The methods rather than the original "idea"; and they wrongly believed that fascist society could be achieved via the nation-state as opposed to the construction of Europe. According to him, fascism could survive the 20th century in a new metapolitical guise if its theorists succeed in building inventive methods adapted to the changes of their times; the aim being the promotion of the core politico-cultural fascist project rather than vain attempts to revive doomed regimes: In addition, Bardèche wrote: "The single party,
18975-548: The most right-wing government in the history of the Italian Republic according to some academics. In an attempt to moderate the party to placate fears among those who describe FdI as neo-fascist or far-right , including fears within the European Commission that she could lead Italy towards Hungary under Viktor Orbán , Meloni told the foreign press that Italian fascism is history. As president of
19140-638: The name and the logo of the "Freedom Party" ( Partito della Libertà ) apparently with Berlusconi's backing. On 18 November, after Forza Italia claimed to have collected the signatures of more than 7 million Italians (including Umberto Bossi ) against Romano Prodi's second government to ask the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano to call a fresh election, Berlusconi announced that Forza Italia would have soon merged or transformed into The People of Freedom (PdL) party. After
19305-458: The national council of the party, presided by Alfredo Biondi , voted to merge Forza Italia into The People of Freedom (PdL), Berlusconi's new political vehicle, whose official foundation took place in March 2009. A new Forza Italia was established by Berlusconi as PdL's legal successor in 2013. Forza Italia was formed in 1993 by Silvio Berlusconi , a successful businessman and owner of four of
19470-484: The national council of the party, presided over by Alfredo Biondi and attended by Berlusconi himself, officially decided the dissolution of Forza Italia into The People of Freedom (PdL), whose official foundation took place on 27 March 2009. In June 2013 Berlusconi announced the upcoming revival of Forza Italia, and the transformation of the People of Freedom into a centre-right coalition . The modern-day Forza Italia
19635-618: The neo-fascist ideology emerged in 1942, after Nazi Germany invaded the USSR and decided to reorient its propaganda on a Europeanist ground. Europe then became both the myth and the utopia of the neo-fascists, who abandoned previous theories of racial inequalities within the white race to share a common euro-nationalist stance after World War II, embodied in Oswald Mosley 's Europe a Nation policy. The following chronology can therefore be delineated: an ideological gestation before 1919;
19800-528: The new government and the party leader was relegated to opposition. However, the party obtained substantial successes in the 1995 Italian regional elections , both in the North (winning in Piedmont , Lombardy and Veneto ) and the South ( Campania , Apulia and Calabria ). In 1996 the Pole for Freedoms coalition led by Forza Italia lost that year's general election and began what Berlusconi called "the crossing of
19965-424: The new party could have seen the participation of other parties. Finally, on 8 February, Berlusconi and Fini agreed to form a joint list under the banner of "The People of Freedom", allied with Lega Nord. In the 2008 general election the PdL won 37.4% and a majority in both chambers, thanks to the alliance with Lega Nord (8.3%). Soon after the election Berlusconi formed his fourth government . On 21 November 2008
20130-468: The office. On 13 October, the new parliamentary term started and FdI's La Russa was elected President of the Senate of the Republic ; he is the first politician with a neo-fascist background and to come from a post-fascist party to hold the position, which is the second highest-ranking office of the Italian Republic. After customary talks among the parties and the president, Sergio Mattarella , as part of
20295-420: The opinion research centre Diakron that surveyed the "market potential" of the new party and the financial intermediaries of Fininvest subsidiary Programma Italia encouraged the launch of Forza Italia clubs. The new party's campaigning was strongly dependent on Fininvest's TV stations and PR resources. This earned Forza Italia labels like "virtual", "plastic" or "business-firm party". In her 2001 study of
20460-502: The organization carried out 694 murders during the late-1970s political violence in Turkey , between 1974 and 1980. The nationalist political party MHP founded by Alparslan Türkeş is also sometimes described as neo-fascist. The British National Party (BNP) is a nationalist party in the United Kingdom which espoused the ideology of fascism and anti-immigration . In the 2009 European elections , it gained two members of
20625-475: The party and former Minister of Economy), Franco Frattini (Vice President of the European Commission ), Fabrizio Cicchitto (national deputy-coordinator of the party), Renato Brunetta , Francesco Musotto , Amalia Sartori , Paolo Guzzanti and Margherita Boniver . Berlusconi himself was a close friend of Bettino Craxi , leader of the PSI, in spite of his own Christian Democratic and Liberal background (Berlusconi
20790-569: The party leader of Forza Italia in the European Parliament , became a Vice President. In the same year, the party scored well (25.2% of votes) in the European Parliament election of 1999 . In the Italian regional elections of 2000, the Pole for Freedoms, with the support of Lega Nord, won in eight out of fifteen regions (all the most populous ones, except for Campania ), while three members of Forza Italia were re-elected as presidents of
20955-400: The party was present with a slightly different logo, with the words "Berlusconi President" ( Berlusconi Presidente ). It was the only party to use the word "President" in its logo. In the election for the Chamber of Deputies , FI scored 23.7% and 137 seats, in those for the Senate 24.0%, without counting Trentino-Alto Adige , whose seats were contested on first-past-the-post basis and which
21120-452: The party's name to Brothers of Italy – National Alliance, chose the new symbol, including in small AN's one, and re-elected Meloni as president. During the party's first congress in March 2014, FdI ratified the primary's outcomes; the congress also voted for the party to leave the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament and adopt Eurosceptic positions. In the 2014 European Parliament election in Italy , FdI obtained 3.7% of
21285-458: The party, among them Liberamente , Network Italy , Reformism and Freedom , Liberal Populars , New Italy , and FareItalia . On 17 December 2012, La Russa, one of the three PdL national coordinators, announced he was leaving the party to form the "National Centre-right" ( Centrodestra Nazionale ), including not just right-wingers but also Christian democrats and liberals from Forza Italia (FI) such as Crosetto and Cossiga. The split from
21450-485: The party, political scientist Emanuela Poli described Forza Italia as "a mere diversification of Fininvest in the political market". The case of Forza Italia was unprecedented as never before had a large political party been launched by a business corporation. Only slowly it transformed into a mass-membership organisation. It took four years until the first party congress was held. To extend its representation in different regions, FI often recruited established politicians of
21615-530: The party. Finally, Alessandro Urzì led the Alto Adige in the Heart party into FdI. In the 2018 Italian general election , as part of the centre-right coalition , FdI obtained 4.4% of the vote and won more than three times the seats won in 2013. In November 2018, in the run-up to the 2019 European Parliament election in Italy , the party agreed to join the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in
21780-477: The past, with the form of a child we do not recognize and the head of a young Medusa, the Order of Sparta will be reborn: and paradoxically it will, without doubt, be the last bastion of Freedom and the sweetness of living." In the spirit of Bardèche's strategy of disguise through framework change, the MSI had developed a policy of inserimento (insertion, entryism ), which relied on gaining political acceptance via
21945-402: The personal image and charisma of its leader (it has been called a "personality party" or Berlusconi's "personal party"), and the skillful use of media campaigns, especially via television. The party's organisation and ideology depended heavily on its leader, so much so that its appeal to voters was based on Berlusconi's personality more than on its ideology or programme. In November 2008,
22110-400: The population linked to a strongly neoliberal economic policy. As a result of factors such as opposition to Workers' Party , fear and reaction to the 2013 protests , as well as the economic crises of 2008 and 2014 , Jair Bolsonaro emerged as a viable option, not because of a well-defined strategic project, but almost accidentally. In this way, the multiplicity of groups that make up
22275-624: The regime in what extents to a remnant of pre-war fascist strategies. The main driving force of neo-fascist movements was what they saw as the defense of a Western civilization from the rise of both communism and the Third World , in some cases the loss of the colonial empire. In 1961, Bardèche redefined the nature of fascism in a book deemed influential in the European far-right at large entitled Qu'est-ce que le fascisme? ( What Is Fascism? ). He argued that previous fascists had essentially made two mistakes in that they focused their efforts on
22440-475: The right overall. While both historical fascism and contemporary neo-fascism are xenophobic, nativist and anti-immigrant, neo-fascist leaders are careful not to present these views in so strong a manner as to draw obvious parallels to historical events. Both Jean-Marie Le Pen of France's National Front and Jörg Haider 's Freedom Party of Austria , in the words of historian Tony Judt , "revealed [their] prejudices only indirectly". Jews would not be castigated as
22605-493: The rights of man, a multiparty system, and the rule of law. Encyclopedia Britannica considers Zhirinovsky to be a neo-fascist. Zhirinovsky endorsed the forcible re-occupation of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and suggested nuclear waste should be dumped there. During the First Chechen War in the mid-1990s, he advocated hitting some Chechen villages with tactical nuclear weapons . The Russian National Unity
22770-403: The secret police, the public displays of Caesarism, even the presence of a Führer are not necessarily attributes of fascism. ... The famous fascist methods are constantly revised and will continue to be revised. More important than the mechanism is the idea which fascism has created for itself of man and freedom. ... With another name, another face, and with nothing which betrays the projection from
22935-427: The strongest factions within the party, but all four were mainstream for a special issue: for example liberals and liberal-centrists were highly influential over economic policy, Christian democrats led the party over ethical issues (although there was a substantial minority promoting a more progressive outlook), while social democrats had their say in defining the party's policy over labour market reform and, moreover, it
23100-535: The style of the movement and look up to its leaders as inspiration. A Finns Party councillor and police officer in Seinäjoki caused small scandal wearing the fascist blue-and-black uniform. In France, the far-right National Rally party is of neo-fascist origin and is frequently accused of promoting anti-semitism and xenophobia. After the onset of the Great Recession and economic crisis in Greece,
23265-413: The success of the boycott along with most FI members, both Berlusconi and Tremonti explicitly said that "abstention" was their personal opinion, not the official one of the party. The political scientist Giovanni Orsina has defined Berlusconism , as he terms the ideology of Forza Italia and its leader, as an "emulsion of populism and liberalism", more specifically right-liberalism. According to him, in
23430-508: The sudden fall of the Prodi II Cabinet on 24 January 2008, the break-up of The Union coalition and the subsequent political crisis paving the way towards a new general election, Berlusconi hinted on 25 January that Forza Italia would have probably contested its final election and the new party would have been officially founded after that election. In an atmosphere of reconciliation with Gianfranco Fini , Berlusconi also stated that
23595-406: The support of Us with Salvini but in competition with the candidate supported by FI. Meloni won 20.6% of the vote, almost twice than FI's candidate, but did not qualify for the run-off, while FdI obtained 12.3%. In the 2017 Sicilian regional election , Nello Musumeci , a conservative close to the party, was elected president of Sicily . During the party's second congress in December 2017, Meloni
23760-408: The time an independent member of Parliament) Finance Minister. In the 1994 European Parliament election held in June, Forza Italia was placed first nationally, with 30.6% of the vote, electing 27 MEPs . The party did not join an existing group in the European Parliament , instead forming the new group Forza Europa , composed entirely of Forza Italia MEPs. The first Berlusconi-led government had
23925-429: The two major political parties in Italy during the 2020s along with the Democratic Party . The party is led by Giorgia Meloni , the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy . Meloni's tenure has been described as the "most right-wing" republican government in Italy since World War II , whilst her time in government is frequently described as a shift towards the far-right in Italian politics. In December 2012, FdI emerged from
24090-454: The vote and 24 seats, ahead of the PD and centre-right coalition partners. Meloni, who was a candidate in all five constituencies, received 2.3 million preferences votes and was the most voted individual in the election. The second most voted candidate in the party was Nicola Procaccini , outgoing chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. In September 2024, FdI was admitted into
24255-678: The vote and no seats, while doing well in Central and Southern Italy, especially in Lazio (5.6%), Umbria (5.4%), Abruzzo (4.7%), and Campania (4.5%), as well as in north-eastern Friuli-Venezia Giulia (4.4%). During an assembly of the association in October 2015, the representatives of FdI, supported by former AN heavyweights who had remained in the PdL, won a decisive vote over a front led by Alemanno, who had left FdI earlier, joined forces with former allies of Gianfranco Fini and wanted to form
24420-488: The vote in the 2019 Abruzzo regional election and became FdI's first regional president on 10 February. Since governing the region, which ranked as the ninth-worst region by number of deaths per capita during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy , critics said undermined access to abortion and privatised health care, FdI has made it harder for migrants to access social housing . Meloni reclaimed this by saying that "Italians first
24585-628: The washing away of national values." Before it was banned in 1999, and breakup in late 2000, the group estimated to have had approximately 20,000 to 25,000 members. Alexander Barkashov along with other members of the Russian National Unity have engaged in religious activities and pro-Russian activism in the Russian-Ukrainian War . A neo-fascist organization in Serbia was Obraz , which was banned on 12 June 2012 by
24750-522: Was a Chetnik party, oriented towards neo-fascism with a striving for the territorial expansion of Serbia. Kotleba – People's Party Our Slovakia is a far-right political party with views that are considered extremist and fascist. The Party's leader, Marian Kotleba , is a former neo-Nazi , who once wore a uniform modelled on that of the Hlinka Guard , the militia of the 1939–45 Nazi-sponsored Slovak State . He opposes Romani people , immigrants,
24915-416: Was a DC activist in occasion of the 1948 general election ). Many were former Liberals (PLI), Republicans (PRI) and Social Democrats (PSDI): Alfredo Biondi (president of Forza Italia's national council) and Raffaele Costa , both former PLI leaders, and former PSDI leader Carlo Vizzini were later MPs for Forza Italia. Also Antonio Martino and Giancarlo Galan were formers Liberals, Jas Gawronski
25080-415: Was a leading Republican, while Marcello Pera has a Socialist and Radical background. Even some former Communists were leading members of the party, such as national party coordinator Sandro Bondi and Ferdinando Adornato . Members of Forza Italia were divided in factions, which were sometimes mutable and formed over the most important political issues, despite previous party allegiances; however, it
25245-458: Was a paramilitary organization which was founded by Alexander Barkashov in 1990. It used a left-pointed swastika and emphasizes the "primary importance" of Russian blood. Concerning Adolf Hitler , the organizations's leader Barkashov declared: "I consider [Hitler] a great hero of the German nation and of all white races. He succeeded in inspiring the entire nation to fight against degradation and
25410-407: Was also the preamble to the party's constitution, described the party in this way: Forza Italia is a liberal party although not an elitist one, indeed a popular liberal-democratic party; it is a Catholic party although not a confessional one; it is a secular party, although not an intolerant and secularist one; it is a national party, although not a centralist one. Forza Italia presented itself as
25575-508: Was an admitted fascist who followed eco-fascism and admired Oswald Mosley , the leader of the British fascist organization British Union of Fascists (BUF), who is quoted in the shooter's manifesto The Great Replacement (named after the French far-right theory of the same name ). The Economic Freedom Fighters are a self-described pan-Africanist political party founded in 2013 by
25740-476: Was appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister from 2004 to 2006, while Roberto Castelli , senior figure of Lega Nord was Justice Minister from 2001 to 2006. In 2004 European elections , Forza Italia was second place nationally, receiving 20.1% of the vote and returning 16 MEPs. In national office, the government's popularity kept declining steadily year after year. Regional elections in April 2005 were
25905-404: Was founded by Silvio Berlusconi , who served as Prime Minister of Italy four times. The party was founded in December 1993 and won its first general election soon afterwards in March 1994. It was the main member of the Pole of Freedoms / Pole of Good Government , Pole for Freedoms and House of Freedoms coalitions. Throughout its existence, the party was characterised by a strong reliance on
26070-404: Was highly heterogeneous and the ideological differences among its voters are explained also by its different regional constituencies; while voters from the North tended to support the original libertarian line of the party, voters from the South tended to be more statist . Both its Northern strongholds ( Lombardy and Veneto) and its Southern strongholds ( Sicily and Apulia) were once dominated by
26235-430: Was launched on 18 September 2013 and the PdL was dissolved into the new party on 16 November 2013. Defunct Forza Italia was a centre-right party, formed mainly by former members of Christian Democracy , the Italian Socialist Party and the Italian Liberal Party . The ideology of the party ranged from libertarianism to social democracy (often referred to as " liberal socialism " in Italy), including elements of
26400-454: Was long a member of AN) and Walter Rizzetto (deputy of Free Alternative , originally elected with the Five Star Movement ). In March 2016, Rizzetto officially joined FdI and it was announced that the party's group in the Chamber would be renamed Brothers of Italy–Our Land. The name change never happened, but the party's enlargement continued with the switch of two deputies from FI. In the 2016 Rome municipal election , Meloni ran for mayor with
26565-713: Was not as narrow as Nazi nationalism. After World War II, neo-fascism and ultra-nationalism were ostracized from mainstream politics in Germany, while in Japan , they were partially related to major right-wing conservative politics. Since 2006, all prime ministers of Japan's LDP have been members of far-right ultranationalist Nippon Kaigi . With Mongolia located between the larger nations Russia and China , ethnic insecurities have driven many Mongolians to neo-fascism, expressing nationalism centered around Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler . Groups advocating these ideologies include Blue Mongolia, Dayar Mongol , and Mongolian National Union. Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan
26730-450: Was re-elected president, the party was renamed simply Brothers of Italy, and a new symbol was unveiled. In the event, FdI welcomed several newcomers, notably including Daniela Santanchè and Bruno Mancuso, respectively from FI and Popular Alternative (AP). Mancuso became the party's third senator after Stefano Bertacco, as well as Bartolomeo Amidei, had previously switched from FI. Additionally, Crosetto and Urso returned to an active role in
26895-448: Was sentenced in Italy to 15 years of prison for having served as intermediary between the DINA and the Italian neo-fascists. The regimes of Francoist Spain , Augusto Pinochet 's Chile and Alfredo Stroessner 's Paraguay participated together in Operation Condor , which targeted political opponents worldwide. During the Cold War, these international operations gave rise to some cooperation between various neo-fascist elements engaged in
27060-436: Was set up to promote pan-European nationalism . It was a more radical splinter group of the European Social Movement . The NEO had its origins in the 1951 Malmö conference, when a group of rebels led by René Binet and Maurice Bardèche refused to join the European Social Movement as they felt that it did not go far enough in terms of racialism and anti-communism . As a result, Binet joined with Gaston-Armand Amaudruz in
27225-428: Was the Romanian National Unity Party , but had also ties to the Social Democracy Party of Romania (PDSR), Greater Romania Party (PRM) and the Democratic Agrarian Party of Romania (PDAR). One of the founders of the UVR was the Romanian President Ion Iliescu , who was still its member in 2005. In 1990, Vladimir Zhirinovsky founded the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia . Its leader opposes democratic values,
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