The climate of paranoia that has become a dominant feature of Italian politics lately, helped pave the way for Gianni Alemanno's mayoral victory in Rome.
Alemanno, who served as agriculture minister in Berlusconi's last government, will be a mayor-with-a-mission. He has vowed to get tough on immigration. His "Pact for Rome" includes the following: “Immediately activate procedures for the expulsion of 20,000 nomads and immigrants who have broken the law in Rome.”
Fittingly for a one-time neo-fascist whose cosmetic adjustment to the mainstream was mainly about political convenience, Alemanno's office is located close to Piazza Venezia. This is the famed piazza where Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, strutted and ranted mere decades ago.
Xenophobia is once again alive and well in Italy. The Northern League has been successful in riding an anti-immigrant ticket since the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the EU. In the general election it increased its share of the vote by 8%.
The anti-immigrant aspect of the League's platform shouldn't be underestimated. Northern League mayor of Cittadella, Massimo Bitonci, passed an ordinance banning the poor, the homeless and the unemployed from living in his town. Terms such as "the homeless" are also euphemisms for immigrants. A leading campaign promoter for the League, Roberto Calderoli, is famous for tearing open his shirt and displaying a T-shirt bearing one of the notorious Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
The anti-immigrant backlash has been a cushion under the rising fortunes of Gianni Alemanno. He was aided by a murder that made headlines throughout Italy. In 2007, an Italian housewife named Giovanna Reggiani, was sexually assaulted and beaten to death by a Romanian man as she was making her way home along a little used road. The crime led to a public outcry. Squatter camps were demolished across Rome, and a draconian "decree law" was passed authorizing the expulsion without trial of EU citizens deemed a threat to public security. The law has proved to to be tricky to implement, and now Alemanno has been elected with a mandate to carry out what the Romando Prodi government threatened.
Extremist rhetoric is becoming more commonplace in Italy. Giorgio Bettio, a counsellor from Treviso, went so far as to propose in the council chamber that if immigrants commit a crime against an Italian, ten immigrants should be punished for it. This was a notorious method of punishment used in Nazi concentration camps. His remarks were condemned by his colleagues, but Bettio claims people stop him in the street to thank him for speaking out.
Gianni Alemanno is no stranger to rhetoric of this sort. In his youth he was a member of a neo-fascist party. He was arrested on a number of occasions. Once for beating up a leftist, and at a later date for throwing a molotov cocktail. He was also arrested for attacking police during a visit by President Bush Snr.
In 1995 Alemanno and associates attempted a makeover. The National Alliance was formed from the Italian Social Movement, the ex neo-fascist party, and from conservative elements of the former Christian Democracy, in an effort to play to the middle-of-the-road voter. Alemanno has altered his image from the neo-fascist tough to a skillful politician known for his ability in the legislative arena. Some of his supporters though haven't left fascist politics out of the new mix. After Alemanno's victory a number of them celebrated on the steps of the Campidoglio city hall with "saluti Romano" - the stiff arm salute used during the Mussoloni era. In the past Alemanno referred to Mussolini as one of his heroes.
Supporters of Alemanno who want to play down his fascist associations, point to his love of organic food and zen meditation as a sign presumably, of a progressive nature. This might be a rash deduction to make. Hitler after all was a fanatical vegetarian, and many fascist leaders have been known to have a keen interest in the esoteric aspects of life, including the darker side of the occult.
After his win Alemanno said: "I will be the mayor of all Romans: for those who voted for me, and those who didn't ... We won't get dragged into the past when we're heading toward the future."
It remains to be seen.
Alemanno, who served as agriculture minister in Berlusconi's last government, will be a mayor-with-a-mission. He has vowed to get tough on immigration. His "Pact for Rome" includes the following: “Immediately activate procedures for the expulsion of 20,000 nomads and immigrants who have broken the law in Rome.”
Fittingly for a one-time neo-fascist whose cosmetic adjustment to the mainstream was mainly about political convenience, Alemanno's office is located close to Piazza Venezia. This is the famed piazza where Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, strutted and ranted mere decades ago.
Xenophobia is once again alive and well in Italy. The Northern League has been successful in riding an anti-immigrant ticket since the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the EU. In the general election it increased its share of the vote by 8%.
The anti-immigrant aspect of the League's platform shouldn't be underestimated. Northern League mayor of Cittadella, Massimo Bitonci, passed an ordinance banning the poor, the homeless and the unemployed from living in his town. Terms such as "the homeless" are also euphemisms for immigrants. A leading campaign promoter for the League, Roberto Calderoli, is famous for tearing open his shirt and displaying a T-shirt bearing one of the notorious Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
The anti-immigrant backlash has been a cushion under the rising fortunes of Gianni Alemanno. He was aided by a murder that made headlines throughout Italy. In 2007, an Italian housewife named Giovanna Reggiani, was sexually assaulted and beaten to death by a Romanian man as she was making her way home along a little used road. The crime led to a public outcry. Squatter camps were demolished across Rome, and a draconian "decree law" was passed authorizing the expulsion without trial of EU citizens deemed a threat to public security. The law has proved to to be tricky to implement, and now Alemanno has been elected with a mandate to carry out what the Romando Prodi government threatened.
Extremist rhetoric is becoming more commonplace in Italy. Giorgio Bettio, a counsellor from Treviso, went so far as to propose in the council chamber that if immigrants commit a crime against an Italian, ten immigrants should be punished for it. This was a notorious method of punishment used in Nazi concentration camps. His remarks were condemned by his colleagues, but Bettio claims people stop him in the street to thank him for speaking out.
Gianni Alemanno is no stranger to rhetoric of this sort. In his youth he was a member of a neo-fascist party. He was arrested on a number of occasions. Once for beating up a leftist, and at a later date for throwing a molotov cocktail. He was also arrested for attacking police during a visit by President Bush Snr.
In 1995 Alemanno and associates attempted a makeover. The National Alliance was formed from the Italian Social Movement, the ex neo-fascist party, and from conservative elements of the former Christian Democracy, in an effort to play to the middle-of-the-road voter. Alemanno has altered his image from the neo-fascist tough to a skillful politician known for his ability in the legislative arena. Some of his supporters though haven't left fascist politics out of the new mix. After Alemanno's victory a number of them celebrated on the steps of the Campidoglio city hall with "saluti Romano" - the stiff arm salute used during the Mussoloni era. In the past Alemanno referred to Mussolini as one of his heroes.
Supporters of Alemanno who want to play down his fascist associations, point to his love of organic food and zen meditation as a sign presumably, of a progressive nature. This might be a rash deduction to make. Hitler after all was a fanatical vegetarian, and many fascist leaders have been known to have a keen interest in the esoteric aspects of life, including the darker side of the occult.
After his win Alemanno said: "I will be the mayor of all Romans: for those who voted for me, and those who didn't ... We won't get dragged into the past when we're heading toward the future."
It remains to be seen.
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