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Fini disowns fascism bringing turmoil to party

01 November 2003

During his first visit to Israel on 23-24 November 2003, Gianfranco Fini, the deputy prime minister and leader of Alleanza Nazionale (AN, National Alliance), disowned fascism, claiming that it was an expression of “absolute evil”, and denounced the racist laws that were imposed under fascism. He was also critical of the Repubblica Sociale di Salò, the puppet state that collaborated with the Nazis in the deportation of Jews towards the end of the Second World War after Mussolini’s fall from power, and of anyone who “failed to help save innocent lives”. He also claimed that he had changed his mind about Benito Mussolini, who he had referred to as the the “greatest statesman in the twentieth century” in the past. It is a further stage in the effort by Fini to detach the party, now part of the ruling government coalition, from its fascist heritage after the cosmetic changes that were decided in Fiuggi on 27 January 1995. The party was previously known as the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI, Italian Social Movement), and was the direct descendant of the Repubblica Sociale di Saló, an avowedly fascist party under the leadership of Giorgio Almirante.

Fini’s statements sparked controversy in his party, showing the fascist sympathies that persist within its ranks, despite its supposed evolution. Mussolini’s niece Alessandra, who recently ran for mayor in Naples for AN, left the party in protest and seems set to establish a new party, with the backing of the leaders of smaller far-right parties that include Roberto Fiore’s Forza Nuova, Adriano Tilgher’s Fronte Sociale Nazionale and Luca Romagnoli’s Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore. Following Fini’s statements, she claimed that “an incompatibility and prejudice have been sanctioned”, which “are not in relation to my political beliefs, but with the surname that I carry”.

Corriere della Sera 27.11.03; Repubblica 24.11,25.11, 29.11, 1.12, 3.12, 18.12.03.