Demonstrators salute at a fascist rally in Rome
At a rally in Rome (Italy) on Sunday (7), rightwing demonstrators were seen giving the fascist salute. The crime took place in front of the former headquarters of the neofascist group Italian Social Movement (MSI), which became the conservative Brothers of Italy party cofounded by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Every year, rightwing extremist groups gather on January 7 to commemorate three neofascists murdered in 1978 on Via Acca Larentia, southeast of the Italian capital. On that occasion, two of the men were shot dead as suspected farleft militants, while the third was killed by police. No one was ever convicted of the deaths.
In the video, rows of men can be seen saluting with stiff arms and shouting “Present” three times, while one of them shouted “For all dead comrades!” Phrase typically repeated at neofascist events.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, leader of the moderate Forza Italia party, said any celebration of the dictatorship must be condemned.
“There is a law that says you cannot support fascism in our country,” he said.
In addition to banning profascist demonstrations, Italian law also prohibits the reorganization of Mussolini's dissolved fascist party. However, rightwing extremist groups get around the problem by giving their organizations new names and claiming that they are new entities.
For Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein, the picture takes us back to 1924, when Benito Mussolini's fascist party won a major electoral victory in the Italian general election.
“What happened is unacceptable. Neofascist groups must be disbanded according to the constitution,” he added. “Meloni, don’t you have anything to say?”
Neither the Italian Prime Minister nor her party, the Brothers of Italy, have yet commented on the events. Meloni is one of the cofounders of Brothers of Italy, whose origins are directly linked to the Italian Social Movement (MSI) party, founded by neofascists who were part of Mussolini's dictatorial government.
When she was young, the now prime minister praised Mussolini, but has since changed her stance, saying in 2021 that there was “no place” in her party for “nostalgia for fascism, racism or antiSemitism.”