Rabat – International commentators are worried about the implications of Italy’s elections on Sunday, seeing Italy’s lurch to the right as a sign of fascism returning to Europe. The reason for concern is recent polling that indicates that the far-right party “ Brothers of Italy,” is widely expected to win the elections.
If the far-right party wins tomorrow’s elections, it would indicate that Italy is returning to its most far-right national politics since the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Italy has been far from a leftist bulwark in past decades, yet many experts see the Brothers of Italy party as a unique threat.
The party’s leader Giorgia Meloni looks set to lead a coalition government with two other populist party’s, Forza Italia and Lega, who each espouse their own variation of right-wing politics.
Meloni’s likely victory comes amid a trend of the increasing mainstreaming of far-right ideology, exemplified by Marine Le Pen’s increasing popularity in France, an anti-immigration party taking over in Sweden, and Germans embracing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
A little more than 77 years since World War II ended, Europeans appear ready to again embrace the vitriol and populist fear-mongering of the far-right.
Commenting on Italy’s election at the Venice film festival earlier this Month, Hillary Clinton seemed to see things differently, focusing only on the far-right leader’s gender. “The election of the first woman prime minister in a country always represents a break with the past, and that is certainly a good thing,” she told a reporter.
If experts’ concerns come true, the political shift could be worrying for the nearly half a million Moroccans who live in Italy.
During a rally in June, Meloni told the gathered crowd “No to the violence of Islam,” while her party vehemently opposes immigration. As shown in its fascistic slogan “god, family, fatherland,” Meloni’s party has openly expressed a desire for a more Catholic Italy.
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While her party claims to not be fascist, Meloni has described the country’s former fascist leader Mussolini as a “good politician, the best in the last 50 years.”
The unapologetic embrace of Italy’s fascist past, and the increasingly mainstream hateful ideologies permeating from Italy and other European states, have led many to wonder if Europe has in any way learned from its past, or whether it is doomed to make the same mistakes.
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