Italy remains divided over the anti-fascism debate amid national liberation day
Italy’s celebration of the anniversary of the country’s liberation from fascism and Nazi occupation on April 25 is an occasion that annually divides the country.
The debate centres not only on the actual unfolding of historical facts but also on the overall assessment regarding the two decades of fascism and the real danger that a form of dictatorship could reassert itself in Italy.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR) attended the celebrations at the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome with President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and other leading government figures, in addition to having a letter published in Corriere della Sera with the intention of “contributing to a newfound national harmony.”
Meloni has always been blamed, and particularly during this anniversary as Italy’s prime minister, for never describing herself as “anti-fascist”.
In the letter published on Corriere, Meloni defends the right wing, which for years in parliament has declared its “incompatibility with any nostalgia for fascism” and stresses that “freedom and democracy are a heritage for all.”
Meloni reproaches her political opponents for using fascism as a tool to delegitimise her political side and make it a “weapon of mass exclusion.”
From the left-wing, several criticisms are directed at Meloni and Fratelli d’Italia, while the two allied parties of the government, Matteo Salvini’s Lega and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, are not involved in the debate.
“The root of our republican history is anti-fascist,” said Senator Francesco Boccia (Democratic Party/S&D) commenting on the premier’s letter.
“This is why it is regrettable that Giorgia Meloni, although in an effort that we recognize but maintains an obvious reticence, fails to declare herself anti-fascist”, he adds.
The debate at the political level reflects the division on the issue in the country.
According to a poll conducted by the research institute Quorum/YouTrend for SkyTG24, despite the debate, 60% of Italians believe Liberation Day is a day that unites the country rather than dividing it.
More worryingly, the survey showed that only 29% of respondents believe that antifascism is outdated and anachronistic, while 47% believe that there is a “fascist danger” in Italy (47% think the opposite).
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
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