• Revisionists in power

    Now President of the Senate of the Republic, Ignazio La Russa (right) is seen here in his youth, commemorating Benito Mussolini. Photo: IPA/Fotogramma.

    “The Partisan attack in Via Rasella was a page in the history of the resistance that was anything but noble. Those who were killed were a music band made up of semi-pensioners, not SS Nazis.”

    This is a quote from Ignazio La Russa, Italy’s President of the Senate. Before being promoted to the second-highest ranking role of the Republic, La Russa was well known for his fascist roots. Not only did he collect Benito Mussolini’s memorabilia, but he also started his political career as leader of neofascist Youth Front.

    La Russa was a co-founder of Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s party. As soon as the far-right coalition won a majority, Meloni gave him a promotion. As a result, the president of the Senate is revising history. On 25 April, Italy’s Liberation Day, he didn’t join the President in a visit to anti-Fascist memorial in Piedmont, opting instead for a trip to Prague.

    This article is part of the "The war over memory" edition
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    May 9: a tale of two celebrations
    2
    Number of the week: 4
    3
    How Ukraine turned on Victory Day
    4
    Revisionists in power
    5
    Living memory against symbolic politics in Hungary