In today’s Italy, some outlets like The Guardian
label the present government of Giorgia Meloni as the doyenne of what
it describes as “neo-fascism.” They see in her politics a savvy,
gradualist way to restore the Mussolini-era patriarchy and strong,
controlling state.
Although her party has its roots in a political descendant of the fascist regime, there is little evidence of what historian Simonetta Falasca-Zamboni has
described as “fascist spectacle.” There are few Meloni posters, much
less statues in Rome or elsewhere. She does not hold the kind of massive
show-of-strength rallies that Mussolini and Hitler specialized in.
Unlike Mussolini, she has no cadre of violent “Blackshirts” to impose
the party’s will.
Meloni’s governing philosophy, instead, is traditionalist and conservative. Like others in the European “far right,” she is protective of the vast Italian welfare state and not willing to rock the boat of what is, whatever its political coloration, a profoundly conservative country. Leftists do not fear criticism of her will land them in jail. Actually, the rising censorship in Britain and the EU is applied to those who challenge progressive assumptions. When Meloni’s proposed judicial reform was voted down, Meloni dutifully accepted the results. “She’s basically a Christian Democrat,” Rome-based economist Veronica De Romanis told me. “Stability is her main goal.” ...
