Two days ago, Giorgia Meloni became the first woman Prime Minister of Italy. She is getting praise and congratulations from both liberals and conservatives in the United States. The liberals support her because she is another female head of state making inroads into a dominantly male environment. Conversely, the conservatives support her because she espouses her Catholic/Christian beliefs against abortion and the gay communities, and advocates for a stronger Christian role in government.
But before we get too far down this road of support, understand she is also the President of the Brothers of Italy, a neo-fascist organization that somehow works around the banned doctrines of Mussolini’s earlier National Fascist Party (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_of_Italy).
Fascism (according to Webster/Merriam) is “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.” Further: “a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.”
I paraphrase more definitions which state “fascists strongly oppose Marxism, liberalism and democracy, and believe the state takes precedence over individual interests. They favor centralized rule, often a single party or leader, and embrace the idea of a national rebirth, a new greatness for their country. Economic self-sufficiency is prized, often through state-controlled companies.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism)
So, not only is Giorgia Meloni the first woman to be an Italian PM, she is also the first fascist to be their leader since Mussolini in WWII. And remember, Mussolini sided with Hitler.
An old story for you to consider: a man goes for a walk in the winter. He finds a rattlesnake, almost frozen, and huddled in the middle of the lane. He feels sorry for the snake, picks it up, and takes it home. The snake thaws, but when the man tries to move it, the snake bites him. “Why did you strike me after I saved you from freezing?” the man asked. The snake replied: “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”
In the last six months, I toured through several European locations: Prague, Budapest, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, and a multiple of German cities. During one of our Paris tours, air raid sirens sounded; they are still tested once a month. In the rivers we traveled, there were two separate locations cordoned off with unexploded WWII Allied bombs. In Cologne, the tour guide joked that if you dig anywhere in the city, you uncover either Roman ruins or dud bombs. Some cities in our tours had been leveled by Allied bombing by as much as 80 percent.
A few of our tour guides still spoke the Russian they had to learn because of the occupations by the Soviet Union after the war and before the Iron Curtain fell. Memorials to lost Jewish lives were everywhere; you didn’t have to go to the concentration camps to be reminded. In short, even though it has been at least two generations since warfare or enemy occupation, memories are still fresh.
When I was stationed at Aviano AB in northeastern Italy in the mid-70’s, Tito was still alive and kept Yugoslavia under control, although the country was technically a satellite of the USSR. Separately, Italy itself recognized the communist and fascist parties as having legitimate right to run for government leadership.
Next door to our airbase was an Italian military compound that held a tank division. Our concern was that if one of these non-democratic parties ever won an election, would those tanks turn toward our flightline? Would the new party want all American forces to leave Italy?
We had evacuation plans for our dependents in case the tanks surrounded us or hostile MIGs attacked from Yugoslavia (about five minutes away by air). And, if you are a 21-year-old airman with a young wife and two kids living a couple of miles from the flightline, these realizations age you much too soon. When the air raid sirens sounded in Paris, first day in June 2022, some of these old memories came flooding back.
Giorgia Meloni has said she will continue to support the EU and NATO in their efforts to end the war in Ukraine, but does she really want it to end the same way NATO does. On her new staff are members who have previously and publicly supported Vladimir Putin; ironically though, both Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and spokespersons from Russia have congratulated Meloni on her election.
The next few years in Europe will be interesting. Elsewhere there have been far-right gains in leadership positions in France, Spain, and Sweden. Make no mistake, Russian leadership is watching what is happening in these countries; just remember that several European nations gave early support to Hitler in the mistaken belief the Nazis would not invade their countries.
Some of the very same ideals Meloni defends are being fought for and against on both sides of the US Congress, and I’ll bet Russia is watching that, too! Despite what some people in the US might think, Meloni is neither a true feminist nor conservative, she is a fascist, and she appears to be completely unaffected by the memorials and remnants of WWII.
Giorgia Meloni wouldn’t be the first leader to make promises to get elected only to turn to her own agenda once in power. If she uncoils and strikes out by cuddling up with the Russians or withdrawing from the EU or NATO, then there is only the “royal we” to blame, since we knew what she was when we picked her up.
Best regards to all, and a special thought of respect and concern for my Italian kin; oh, and let’s be safe out there.
