A controversy erupted over the weekend after an investigation by republic And Domani revealed that a foundation close to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party had donated 30,000 euros to purchase a property symbolic of neo-fascism.
The Alleanza Nazionale Foundation, which is closely linked to Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party, contributed to the purchase of the former headquarters of the Italian Social Movement (MSI).
After World War II, the MSI attracted fascist sympathizers and years after its dissolution, the majority of its followers joined Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia.
The donation of 30,000 euros went to the Acca Larenzia association, which honors former terrorists and neo-fascists, and was used to purchase the property of the same name.
Every year on January 7, right-wing extremist sympathizers gather there to commemorate the murder of three neo-fascist militants with fascist salutes. Videos Last year’s rally went viral worldwide.
The Alleanza Nazionale Foundation includes several prominent members of the Fratelli d’Italia; its board includes key figures such as Arianna Meloni and the Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies Fabio Rampelli.
The newspapers behind the Investigation demanded an explanation from Meloni’s party, calling Alleanza Nazionale “the real financial safe of Fratelli d’Italia”. The foundation, however, denied any financial link between the two.
“The Alleanza Nazionale Foundation is much older than Fratelli d’Italia… There is no financial relationship,” wrote the foundation’s president, Giuseppe Valentino, adding: “Arianna Meloni does not hold a leadership position in the foundation.
The opposition parties have taken up the issue and again criticised Meloni’s party for its links with the extreme right, which was previously Fanpage‘S Investigation in National Youth.
Sandro Ruotolo, a member of the European Parliament for the Democratic Party (S&D), argued that Meloni’s project of a conservative party was “not credible” because “the links between the leader of the Fratelli d’Italia and the far-right groups linked to the fascist era remain. We are still waiting for the prime minister to break with the dark past, declare herself anti-fascist and ban organizations that invoke fascism.”
“It is clear that Prime Minister Meloni has no intention of breaking off relations with the neo-fascist extreme right, even when it comes to financing it,” said Angelo Bonelli, spokesman for Europa Verde and a member of the Greens and the Left Alliance.
(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)
