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The impulse for political action among fascists and their heirs through the 20^th and 21^st centuries is promoted by the perception of both crises and decadence in the political, social and economic domains of Italy. Italian fascism, in its original doctrine – before the movement became a party and took power in the 1920s – functioned as an evolutionary dogma agitating for radical changes in the social, political and economic realms of the nation.

Fascism played this role because of its radical socialist roots. But what defines Italian Fascism? British historian Roger Griffin (1991) defines this political doctrine as, ‘a genus of political ideology, which has at its core, in its various permutations, the pursuit of a mythical palingenetic (renewal) derived from a sense of populist ultra-nationalism’ (p. 27). Italian Fascism is populist because, even if the State is ruled by an elite class, the legitimacy of political power is conferred by the people (Eley, 1986). Following the Neo Consensus theory of fascism (Griffin, 2000), this research considers Italian Fascism – and its modern

manifestations – as a revolutionary-oppositional creed. As the American academic Eugene Weber (1974) states:

‘fascism, too easily defined as counter-revolutionary, is not a counter-revolution, but a rival revolution: rival of the communist one which claimed to be the only one entitled to the label.’ (p. 28)

The fascist response seeks a ‘phoenix-like’ renewal in what Griffin terms a revolutionary political and cultural order, embracing all ‘true’ (believers) members of the national community. Giovanni (Irriducibili), in defining what means being a fascist, stresses the revolutionary trait of his ideology:

‘For me, a fascist is not on the right of the political spectrum; the right should be meant as the party of the industry and the rich. Defining yourself as ‘right’ means not being ‘Fascist’ but being something else. Mussolini was socialist and fascism has social roots. Fascism was never pro-capitalism and was anti-communism; it was revolutionary, a Third Way.’

Fascism was born in Italy after the First World War, animated by a strong socialist and radical component presented by the Revolutionary Syndicalists (RS). Revolutionary Syndicalism originated out of the extreme left faction within the Italian Socialist Party (Procacci, 1970). The RS claimed that, in an economically underdeveloped Italy, socialists had to appeal to national sentiment to win over the masses and dramatically improve

industrial production. In such an under-developed economy, only the nation could pursue the economic progress presupposed by classical Marxism. This political vision is identified as National Socialism (Gregor, 1979). Two factions have co-existed within fascism, the pro-bourgeoisie (conservative) and the revolutionaries (or Socialists-Movimentists). It is on this Socialist- Movimentist component that the present study focusesonto make sense of the UltraS because this component has been historically the predominant one in most of the Italian youth neo-fascist groups (Lanna and Rossi, 2003).

The message of the Movimentist fascists was simple and social in nature: they wanted socializzazione to transform the economy into one in which the means of production of the industry and services would pass from private to public hands (Cf. De Felice, 1975).

Corporatism³³, according to fascism, would overcome class struggle; workers and employers would be united in corporations related to the linked economic activity represented in

Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni (in the Chamber of Fasci and corporations) and

33 Corporatism was a political system in which legislative power is exercised by the corporazioni that represent the nation’s economic, industrial and professional groups. It was a ‘Third Way’ between capitalism and communism based on the principle of class harmony over class conflict (Michelini, 1999).

controlled by the government. The instigator of such a political strategy was Nicola Bombacci, a friend of Mussolini and a former communist who became the adviser of Mussolini during the period of the Italian Social Republic in 1943 (Salotti, 2008).

After the Second World War, the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI)³⁴ represented within its structure the same division of fascism, the moderate (conservative) faction and the Movimentists one. The youth of the MSI, regardless of their social class and similar to the many extraparliamentary groups, represented a large majority in favour of the latter ideology (Rao, 2006). This fascination is comprehensible; revolutionary doctrines tend to appeal to youth because of what Weber would call Wertrational, which is best explained as a striving for a goal that in itself may not be rational, but is pursued regardless through rational means (Weber, 1958). Such values come from an ethical, religious and philosophical holistic context; they are not rationally chosen. The fascist Movimentist ideas aimed to tune and aggregate anti-system protest, young people, the unemployed, and the underclass to radically change the State system. The youth component of the MSI reinforced its identity via the experience offered by the Campi Hobbit (Hobbit Camps).³⁵ During the late 1970s and early 1980s, it found its sage in Pino Rauti (Cf. Rao, 2006). As a leader of the group Ordine Nuovo (New Order), Rauti articulated and opined on issues including anti-capitalism and Third Worldism, which argued that the underdeveloped Third World is a consequence of Western colonialism. Within the MSI, Rauti strenuously opposed the conservative, more moderate faction that was inclined to govern in political coalitions with the Christian Democrats. Today Rauti’s ideological inheritance is evident in the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, who was the youth leader of the MSI Fronte della Gioventú (Youth Front) from 1988 to 1991.

Alemanno promoted the ideological agenda of the Movimentists wing of the MSI. During the 1995 MSI Congress, held in the city of Fiuggi under the leadership of Gianfranco Fini³⁶, the party adopted classical conservative positions and in so doing abjured its fascist legacy (Nello, 1998). This political decision, whilst important from a democratic point of view,

34 The Italian Social Movement (Movimento Sociale Italiano -MSI) was the political formation that continued the legacy of fascism after Italy became a constitutional republic. The party was constituted in 1946 ; it merely proclaimed 10 principles, the main ones of which were: Italian territorial unity, the independence of the nation and, contrary to some suppositions, the promotion of an European Union based on equality and justice (Cf.Almirante and Palamenghi-Crispi, 1958).

35The Hobbit camps were cultural events for youth organised by the Fronte della Gioventú. They were called Hobbit in honour of the main protagonist of the mythological world of J.R.R. Tolkien, which articulated neo-fascist sentiment against modernity. The camps were places to play music and debate about issues such as the media, unemployment, the condition of women and ecological problems (Rao, 2006).

36 Gianfranco Fini, President of the Chamber of Deputies and former president of Alleanza Nazionale, is one of the leaders of the newly formed PdL and he is a popular Italian political leader.

created many controversies within the neo-fascist world as Giovanni’s statement demonstrates:

Q: Who do you think are the worst enemies and conversely the best friends of the Italian radical right?

G: ‘That is a very easy answer; the worst enemies are people from our background and tradition who became ‘moderate’ for greed or power; people such as Gianfranco Fini and all his friends in Alleanza Nazionale. The worst thing for us is to cease the battle against this system in Italy; we value anyone fighting the system, even if they have different ideology from us. For instance, we did a banner praising Carlo Giuliani who was killed by the police during the Genoa G 8 protest because we value warriors even if their politics differ from ours; fighters for their ideals often pay a high price.’³⁷

During the 1995 congress, the MSI underwent a transition to become Alleanza Nazionale (AN). The congress is known as ‘the schism of Fiuggi’ since a faction of the MSI did not join AN, but remained faithful to the post fascist ideology of the old MSI, forming a new party named Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore led by Pino Rauti (Nello, 1998). Alemanno remained in AN promoting the ideas of the Movimentists of the MSI albeit in a somewhat more moderate fashion. Alemanno later became the leader of the AN faction Destra Sociale (Social Right).³⁸ He was perceived by the Irriducibili and the Boys as the only respectable politician in AN because he did not repudiate his political roots as did Gianfranco Fini.

During the 2006 Rome Mayoral electoral campaign, Alemanno was supported by the Irriducibili, who occasionally displayed banners in the Olympic Stadium urging others to vote for him.

The Movimentist identity of fascism is present today in the majority of the Italian neo-fascist youth and is certainly recognisable amidst the UltraS. This study identified three neo-fascist groups that ideologically influence the UltraS: Ordine Nuovo; Terza Posizione (Third Position; its legacy is present today in Forza Nuova) and Casa Pound Italia. These groups claim, in one way or another, to be followers of the philosopher Julius Evola and the previously mentioned ‘socialist’ ideas of Nicola Bombacci.

37 See chapter 12 for an examination of the Genoa G8 episode.

38 The Social Right promotes a social economy providing a range of services to citizens including the most disadvantage groups. It promotes a strong defense of traditional values and national identity; among its political priorities there are an efficient regulation of the immigration, the protection of environmental heritage, the promotion of Italian history, art, and architecture and food. The Social Right is an important political component of the newly formed PDL. Cf. htpp://destrasociale.org