In the last week of June, an undercovered media investigation into the Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy – Fd’I) youth organisation, Gioventù Nazionale, conducted by Backstair, the investigative unit of Fanpage.it revealed a gloomy and extremist atmosphere among its members, including fascist greetings and songs, homophobia, apologies for black terrorism and Nazi symbols.
At first, Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister and leader of Fd’I, criticised Fanpage journalists for their methods, alleging ethical violations, failure to respect privacy, and even attacks on political rights. However, she later retracted her statement and told her party that anyone who idolises Italy’s fascist past should be removed from its ranks. In a letter to party leaders, Meloni said she was “angry and saddened”, emphasising that “There is no room in Brothers of Italy for racism or antisemitism, nor is there space for those who are nostalgic for the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century or any manifestation of foolish folklore.”
Uncovering Fd’I’ young nostalgias of Fascism
An undercover journalist followed Gioventu d’Italia members between party parties, inaugurations of offices and community holidays. What the investigation discovered was anti-Semitic insults, racial hatred and homophobia. Surprisingly, among the protagonists were some of the most prominent militants of the organisation, who have collaborated, or still collaborate, with the top leaders of Fratelli d’Italia, including deputies.
Reactions
The Brothers of Italy trace their roots to the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI), considered the heir of the Republican Fascist Party founded by Benito Mussolini. The party was founded in November 1946, thanks to the amnesty the then Italian Minister of Justice and General Secretary of the Communist Party, Palmiro Togliatti, granted to both partisans and fascists and their collaborators. The amnesty, aiming at the unity of the country after the war and civil war, enabled those Italian fascists, who were not condemned for the most grave crimes, to establish their party, MSI, and enter the Italian political life. MSI, a far-right party, regularly participated in the elections, electing its deputies and regional and local representatives, and was part of the Italian political environment.
However, although Meloni never said she was an anti-Fascist, she tried to distance herself from the neo-fascist past and sought to place Fd’I as a mainstream conservative party.
The first reaction to the media investigation came from lawmaker Giovanni Donzelli, who denied any presence of “racists, anti-Semites, violent people and those nostalgic for the dictatorships of the twentieth century” within the party and its youth organisation.
However, the videos delivered by the investigative journalist do not leave space for doubts. Images of youth members chanting “Duce” and a group chat with an anti-Jewish post led opposition parties to accuse Brothers of Italy being a refuge for the extreme right.
Then, Meloni had to call the party to clean its ranks from those expressing anti-semitic and racist views and feeling nostalgic sentiments for the totalitarian past of the country.
