Italy’s fascists stay true to Mussolini’s ideology

Leader of anti-immigration group CasaPound describes former dictator’s brand of fascism as ‘our point of reference’. Speaking in front of a photograph of Benito Mussolini at CasaPound’s Rome headquarters, Simone di Stefano does not hesitate when asked if he subscribes to the Italian dictator’s brand of fascism. “It’s our point of reference, a vision of the state and the economy and the concept of sacrifice,” said Di Stefano, who is vice president of CasaPound, the movement that reportedly has 5,000 members in Italy, alongside 15 loyal local councillors and the support of key officials at Rome city hall, where the mayor, Gianni Alemanno, is himself a former neo-fascist. Last year, a concert in Rome by the rock band led by CasaPound’s president, Gianluca Iannone, was sponsored by one of the capital’s borough councils. By holding cultural debates on themes as diverse as Che Guevara and Jack Kerouac, CasaPound has sought to separate itself from Italy’s old-style, street-fighting neo-fascists. The group is named after Ezra Pound, the American poet who sided with Mussolini during the war. Mussolini’s racial laws were “a mistake,” says Di Stefano. “We believe in the national community and the Jews in Italy are part of that.” And as for Pound’s own antisemitism, “at the time it was very common throughout the world”.

via guardian: Italy’s fascists stay true to Mussolini’s ideology