As of Sept. 22, Giorgia Meloni, of the Brothers of Italy Party, is favored to be elected as Italy’s new prime minister. The Brothers of Italy party is a far-right nationalist party known for having strong ties to the post-World War II neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). With the last far-right government holding power in Italy being that of Benito Mussolini’s administration during World War II, how does this affect Italy and the scope of global politics? 

The MSI was formed in 1946 by Giorgio Almirante, the former chief of staff serving under Mussolini’s National Fascist Party during World War II. With a strong identity, the group attracted many who supported ideals such as authoritarianism. Being inspired by it, the Brothers of Italy took many aspects and ideals from the MSI, including their party’s main logo. 

The logo used by the Brothers of Italy is directly inspired by the MSI’s. At its center, the logo features a red, white and green flame. Though it is not explicitly the same, the resemblance shows a glimpse into the dark history of Italian politics and the struggle some have made to keep fascism alive. 

With Meloni opposing abortion and same-sex marriage, being anti-vaccination and holding strong views on immigration, she has demonstrated that she holds similar views to her predecessors in the MSI and the National Fascist Party. Previously, she has demonstrated her support for ideas such as the Great Replacement Theory, which is an idea perpetuated by white supremacists claiming that people of color are attempting to immigrate to “white” countries to completely replace their population. 

In the past, Meloni has also praised Mussolini. In a TV interview when Meloni was 19, she claimed that Mussolini is “a good politician, in that everything he did, he did for Italy.” Mussolini was a fascist dictator that devastated the people of Italy and upheld the ideals of Adolf Hitler throughout World War II. Meloni’s praise for Mussolini displays yet another example of her and the Brothers of Italy Party upholding fascist ideals. 

With alt-right ideals becoming ever so popular globally, it is the responsibility of us, the general public, to become informed and vote. As history repeats itself 100 years from when it originally took place, it is more important than ever to uphold democracy by voting. Many of these politicians support ideals that will take away our civil rights. In the United States, we have recently seen inhumane anti-abortion legislature implemented across the country as well as anti-transgender legislature being implemented across the South. Fascism has no place in the modern world. 

Register to vote online at https://www.vote.org/. The deadline to register to vote in the United States is Oct. 11, and Oct. 28 if you are registering by mail.