The msi and the role of fascism in Italian political culture

• Main Author: Ferran GALLEGO
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca 2013-05-01
• Series: Studia Historica: Historia Contemporánea
• Subjects: extrema derecha italiana; fascismo; Giorgio Almirante; Alianza Nacional
• Online Access: http://revistas.usal.es/index.php/0213-2087/article/view/9905

This paper analyzes the role of the italian social movement in Italy (MSI) in the twentieth century. The key to understand its influence would lie in the peculiarities of the political regime emerged from the ruins of fascism. With the proclamation of the republic many fascists enrolled in the ranks of the christian Democrats and other parties of the right, leaving the MSI as sole heir of fascism. That did not stop working with the christian Democrats through the strategy of «inserimento». When the christian Democrats began their approach to the italian socialist Party, the MSI was clearly excluded and located in a relatively marginal position. Its later resurgence may be explained considering the radical changes in italian politics in the sixties and seventies; circumstances which favoured the arrival of Giorgio Almirante as leader of MSI in 1969. In that period, the MSI presented itself as the political party of restored order and ready to fight subversion (communist) itself. During the 80s, the MSI moved between the ‘strategy-Party Protest’ leaded by Almirante and the idea of a ‘civil society Party’ defended by Rauti. In the end, the MSI, after the change of leadership of Almirante by Gianfranco Fini, began a new path which stated loyalty to the values of fascism, strengthened by the crisis of communism. This MSI new discourse eased its growth in circumstances in which the traditional parties and the Italian Republican system as a whole were practically about to collapse. Subsequently, the post-fascist Alianza Nacional emerged; a political formation which later on merged into Forza Italia, leaded by Silvio Berlusconi.