Fascist Doll

So, is she a fascist or not? I'm talking about Italy's newly elected prime minister Giorgia Meloni. She will most likely form a strong majority coalition with Silvio Berlusconi's conservative Forza Italia party and Matteo Salvini's populist right wing Lega, forming Italy's most right wing government since the Second World War. I'll try to stay reasonable here in answering the fascism-question. It's going to be difficult though...

Somehow, when I heard the news about this new and first female Italian prime minister, an old Cliff Richard song sprang to mind, albeit with slightly adjusted lyrics:

Got myself a crying, talking, sleeping, walking, fascist doll
Got to do my best to please her, just 'cause she's a fascist doll
Got a roving eye and that is why she satisfies my soul
Got the one and only walking talking, fascist doll

Well, that spoiled it, now you know what my answer is: yes, she's a fascist. Female fascist leaders are quite rare in history, which is why Giorgia Meloni is, in a way, a precious doll indeed. If you know anything about fascism, you'll know why women are seldom found in fascistic leadership roles; fascism is hard to define, but is decidedly hierarchical, patriarchal, authoritarian and regressive in nature. You won't typically find fascists fighting for the advancement of women's rights. But here we have to hit the brakes for a moment to take time and place Italy's new fascist doll in her time and place. Doing so will explain a lot, not just about Italy, but about Trump, Trumpism and the conservative right's reaction to this election. Shall we?

If you look at the list of prime ministers of Italy, you'll notice that Benito Mussolini, or "Il Duce" as he's lovingly called, ruled for almost 21 years. Fun fact; October 31, this year, will be the 100th birthday of Mussolini's rise to power via coup d'état from the March on Rome. In a column trying to give a neutral opinion on Giorgia Meloni's election, British author and political commentator Douglas Murray writes:

Meloni is an impressive performer and a clear-eyed politician. She has hardline policies against illegal immigration, in defense of the traditional family, and much more. At the same time, it is undoubtedly the case that the movement from which she comes has its roots in fascism.

To even say that causes horror on all sides. Conservatives are prone to say “How can you throw a conservative under the bus like that?” While leftists will say “Why don’t you describe her as the fascist she is?” And my response is that most annoying but often truest answer of all: “Because it’s complicated.” And nothing is as complicated as Europe.

Italy has a different political history from America. It also has a different political history from Germany. Italian fascism was a monstrous crime, but it was not exactly as monstrous as German fascism. There are gradations here, as in all things. As a result — and partly because there was less focus on post-war Italy than there was on Germany — fascism is not seen in a negative light in Italy as it is in Germany.

To put it another way, Italian politics has not shrugged off Mussolini in the same way that German politics has got rid of Hitler-ism. The Mussolini family remain active in politics. One of Mussolini’s granddaughters — Rachele Mussolini — is an elected member of Meloni’s own party. Can you imagine if the Hitler family were still active in German politics?
_{source: New York Post}

That's slick. Nothing he says here is wrong. Europe's history and politics are indeed complicated. But so is America's, and Japan's. And it's quite the jump to make from Mussolini all the way to Meloni. That's forgetting about Italy's previous fascist-lite or fascist leaning prime minister, a man by the name of Silvio Berlusconi. Where America is now suffering from a thing called "Trumpism", Italy had its own version, called "Berlusconism". In fact, the similarities between Trump and Berlusconi are striking: they're both notorious misogynists, both engulfed in a great number of criminal and legislative investigations during and after their time in office, both media personalities (Berlusconi is also a media-mogul), both right wing conservative populists, and the list goes on. Berlusconi, like Trump and now Meloni, engage in the kind of demagogic populism that's at the very least comparable with fascism.

Berlusconi and Meloni alike have labeled Benito Mussolini, Italy's fascist dictator, a "good Italian" and have only criticized him for his participation in the extermination of Jews. Read "Italy’s drift to the far right began long before the rise of Giorgia Meloni" to learn more about how the "normalisation of far-right parties dating back to Berlusconi has paved the way for the breakthrough of Brothers of Italy", Giorgia Meloni's party with, as Murray admits in his column, "roots in fascism". So, it's not complicated. Douglas Murray, who is a problematic far right influencer himself, gives yet another far right opinion which amounts to an effort to normalize far right and fascist politics. Needless to say that Meloni's election is celebrated by far right and fascist leaders all over the world. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, who was invited as a keynote speaker at the latest Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, called it a "well deserved victory" and his adviser Balasz Orban said that Hungary needs "more than ever friends who share a common vision and approach to Europe's challenges". Orban is a fascist, by the way.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Rally party, said on Twitter: "The Italian people has decided to take its destiny in hand by electing a patriotic and sovereignist government. Congratulations to Giorgia Meloni and [League leader] Matteo Salvini for having resisted the threats of an anti-democratic and arrogant European Union by winning this great victory." Note that the "Lega per Salvini Premier" party is also a far right populist party in Italy. Santiago Abascal, leader of Spanish hard-right opposition party Vox said: "Giorgia Meloni has shown the way for a proud, free Europe of sovereign nations to be able to cooperate for the security and prosperity of all." Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro: "Italy's new Prime Minister stands for God, Fatherland and Family. She is the first woman in this post in Italy. Well done @GiorgiaMeloni." And Berlusconi, former prime minister and leader of the conservative Forza Italia party, commented on Instagram: "Forza Italia is confirmed as decisive for the victory of the center-right and for the formation of the new government. Once again, I have put my commitment at the service of Italy, the country I love. Thank you for the trust." If all contemporary fascists celebrate with Meloni, it's not that complicated, is it? You can read these reactions and more here on Reuters.

One conservative pundit on American television normalizes fascism by claiming that whatever people vote for, whoever wins the popular vote in national elections, should be seen as the new center, the new normal. That's so dumb that people who already have fascist inclinations might fall for it, completely glossing over the fact that that would mean Hitler and Mussolini were the new normal during the Jewish genocide, and that that would mean Biden is the current center in America, and not the far left socialist they're making him out to be. If you vote in a dictator, a dictatorship is simply the new normal, see?

For fascists that would be normal; Orban, Berlusconi, Trump are all "strong men" leading the way to an illusionary and glorified past when things were "normal", and I guess Meloni is a strong woman who promises to put Italy First, and Make Italy Great Again, taking her cues as much from Trump as she does from Berlusconi and "Il Duce". God, Italy and Italians is as toxic a slogan as America First and embodies the same Christian ethnic nationalism. It's amazing how far right pundits and MAGA politicians lament the fact that liberal and leftist reactions fail to celebrate Italy's first female prime minister; aren't they against identity politics? Of course they aren't, they're never what they say they are and identity politics is their life's blood. Meloni is against immigrants and for restricting abortion rights; she's an Italian version of the Christian nationalists who spearhead the MAGA movement, she believes in the white nationalist "Great replacement" theory, so there's no celebrating this particular girlboss.

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