Mussolini's Grandchildren: Fascism in Contemporary Italy

by David Broder

'Fascinating and trenchant, this account of contemporary Italian neo-fascism is both original and shocking' - John Foot, historian

The fastest-rising force in Italian politics is Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia - a party with a direct genealogy from Mussolini's regime. Surging to prominence in recent years, it has waged a fierce culture war against the Left, polarised political debate around World War II, and even secured the largest vote share in Italy's 2022 general election. Eighty years after the fall of Mussolini, his heirs, and admirers are again on the brink of taking power. So how exactly has this situation come about?

Mussolini's Grandchildren delves into Italy's self-styled 'post-fascist' movements - rooted in historical fascism yet claiming to have 'transcended' it. David Broder highlights the reinventions of far-right politics since the Second World War and examines the interplay between a parliamentary face aimed at integrating fascists into the mainstream and militant fringe groups which, despite their extremism, play an important role in nurturing the broader far right.

Fratelli d'Italia has retained its hegemony over fascist subcultures whilst embracing a raft of more pragmatic policy positions, fusing harsh Islamophobia and anti-communism with support for the European Union and NATO. As countervailing anti-fascist forces in Italian society wane, the far-right party's mission to redeem historical fascism, legitimize its political heirs, and shift the terrain of mainstream politics is proving alarmingly successful.

Genres: Politics, History, Italy, Nonfiction, Italian Literature

248 pages, Paperback

Published March 20, 2023

Reviews

[Aaron Watling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broder is a master in his ability to weave the history of Italian fascist and postfascist politics and politicians from the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Salò to the present day. In our post-Trump political landscape where for years one was pummelled with a confusing discourse of ‘everyone I don’t like is a fascist’ and ‘we must be careful in our understanding of fascism in order to prevent its meaning being lost’ (the latter being correct, the former sadly more commonplace in left wing circles) it is refreshing to read someone not only accurately and thoughtfully analysing the topic. The book allows one to see the shaping more broadly of the modern right of Italian, and much of European, politics, wherein the divisions between the centre and far right are not as clear as they once were, if any such divisions remain at all.

Furthermore, how the postfascist element within this ‘modern right’ have managed to develop a legitimacy in a supposedly antifascist republic by denying from history (probably poor phrasing) the crimes of fascism, rather than a relitigation which would bog down the somewhat insurgent movement that it is.

As someone who isn’t familiar with modern Italian politics I found this really informative and enjoyable. I found the phenomenon of the foibe and how they are treated and understood in Italy particularly fascinating, just absolutely mad to be honest.

Anyway its a genuinely brilliant book, I can’t recommend it enough.

[Nathaniel Flakin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is David Broder's analysis of Fratelli d'Italia, the post-fascist party of prime minister Giorgia Meloni. What does "post-fascist" mean? As one writer put it, Meloni's party is "not fascist but also not not fascist." They are a right-wing party that defends Mussolini's legacy and maintains close relations with fascist groups. But they want to maintain all the institutions of the bourgeois regime, and especially the international alliances of Italian imperialism. Like with U.S. right wingers, they combine traditional right-wing policies with ferocious attacks on oppressed people: LGBTQ+ people and immigrants.


Broder has an impressively deep knowledge of the facts and the historical debates — he can explain Italian history to Italians. This book traces Italy's Far Right from Mussolini's Salò Republic (the Nazi puppet state) to the MSI to the AN to the FdI, covering a huge number of fascist and post-fascist leaders with all their splits and fusions. Unfortunately the book is quite short on theory. What is fascism, what is post-fascism, and what is the difference? Not much is written. Meloni's victory clearly didn't mean the victory of fascism — but will her government encourage fascism, and make fascist rule more likely? Or is this just a pendulum swinging back and forth? Will fascism always be around, or is there a way to rip it out at the roots? Those seem to me like the big questions, but they're not dealt with here.

[Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me ages to finish but good read on the rise of the modern right in Italy, and Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia.

Stuff about the Salo republic and political violence in Italy in the 60s and 70s and the post WW2 anti fascist Italian state was good, had never read much about. Some interesting stuff about the ideological demise and eventual collapse of the Italian Communist Party.

Author highlights well the contradictory nature of the new right and neo-fascist parties who see themselves as rebels and against the liberal globalist system but are cosy with NATO, EU etc.

[Stephen Morrissey · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone interested in the politics of modern-day Italy, David Broder puts the country under a microscope, showing how its far right parties, now under the leadership of Meloni, have fashioned a movement from the embers of post-WWII fascism. Eerily similar to the arguments of Republicans in the United States, Italian far-right parties change history for their own political benefit. In Meloni's case, this has involved a vision of Italy's past where anti-fascists were just as cruel as fascists in some respects, ignoring Mussolini and tethering the modern movement to xenophobic and nationalistic tendencies all too familiar to those who lived through the 1930s.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good research, well structured and quite comprehensive. It would have been interesting to include also an analysis of counterforces that have allowed post-fascism to flourish for decades.

[Jodesz Gavilan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fascism's ideological strength has historically lain in its ability to fuse various influences and political forces under its own direction."

In MUSSOLINI'S GRANDCHILDREN: FASCISM IN CONTEMPORARY ITALY, historian David Broder dissects the rise to power of Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni under Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) which traces itself from the powers that propelled and fueled fascism under Benito Mussolini.

This book is not about Mussolini's biological descendants, but the powerful people who used past reiterations of his ideology as launchpad of their own political aspirations against the backdrop of the changing political landscape decades after post-fascism. Central to Broder's analysis is not the direct link of Fratelli d'Italia to Mussolini, but how much of his ideology the party still carries in this day and age.

The political career of Meloni, Italy's first female prime minister, began when she joined the youth arm of a neo-fascist political party. As a teenager, she once praised Mussolini, calling him "a good politician, in that everything he did, he did for Italy." But over the years, especially during the lead-up to the election, Meloni has tried to dissuade and downplay not just the Mussolini links of her party but the level of fascism it lives for. In her words, fascism has been "handed over to history."

But of course politicians lie, especially right-wing politicians. But lies of fascist groups were not the only reason that pushed them back into power. In his book, Broder explores these factors, including complicity and complacency of politicians following the short-lived downfall of fascism in Italy, which ultimately allowed them to reintegrate into mainstream politics.

I really enjoyed reading this book, even if I have so little knowledge about Italian politics save for the rise of Mussolini fanfare again. But I guess what made this an enjoyable read was the parallelism between the situation there and in the Philippines, particularly the situation after the 1987 People Power Revolution and the events that led to the election of the son and namesake of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

A part of the book talks about the crumbling down of anti-fascism, not necessarily by efforts of fascist groups, as cornerstone of democracy led to more problems on how the Italian population views the past. You remove or at the very least muddle the antithesis of fascism, what do you get? A problematic handling of history. Memory after all, as Broder writes, is "not only a matter of subjective feelings and personal recollection... it can also mean a public, collective processing of the past."

This is not a foreign concept, nor something that is just a product of theorizing. We've seen this play out around the world, and the Philippines post-Martial Law is not an exception. We have the election of Marcos Jr. as proof.

I recommend this book to everyone! No extensive knowledge of Italian politics is needed. Not even a personal history of fascism (as I, a Filipino, have). This is for anyone who wants to understand. Everyone should want to understand.

5/5

[Aleksandar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not good, though it is not necessarily bad. I was was initially thinking to give it two stars, but in the end decided to give it 3 stars, if only for the breadth of material covered and the thoroughness of the research conducted. So, why then do I say it is not good.

Well firstly, the entire book reads like a very very long journalistic article, an op-ed on the electoral history in Italy and the party history on the right in Italy since the WW2. There is zero theoretical discussion on fascism, or rather post-fascism which is the book's key topic of attack. Secondly, it bases the entire criticism of Meloni for her presumed post-fascism on the basis of political statements and speeches made by her and other party members (including those who have clear ties to neo-fascism or various far-right strands). This creates the perspective that they are lying, that their politics is only ostensibly non-fascist, but they are all actually crypto-fascists waiting for the moment when fascism will triumphantly return - though not Mussolinian fascism, but rather "fascism in democracy". Thirdly, and closely connected to the previous point - it treats the MSI and Meloni's party solely from the perspective of their relations to "fascism as regime". It fails to more broadly discuss their ideologies, and how they relate or even how they descend not from a fascist, but from a more broader right-wing tradition - albeit one that fascism is undoubtedly part of. Only in a few instances does the author mention that both the MSI and Meloni's party draw inspiration from diverse sources from De Maistre, through Evola up to Reagan. And this is a point where most contemporary research into the radical, or far-right fails - it fails to treat these ideas as based in a legitimate worldview. This is certainly done purposefully, because lacking such a legitimate ideology behind them would ultimately de-legitimize them.

Nonetheless, it is an interesting read and an easy one, as well as quite informative. Thus, if one can overcome the (perhaps subconscious) liberal bias, and read this as a journalistic op-ed, rather than academic treatise on the subject, I would recommend this book.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Broder is the Italian politics whisperer, and I read essentially everything he writes about Italy (and Europe in general). I very much enjoyed this deep dive into the place of fascism in modern Italian politics. It's a fairly niche subject so it won't be for everyone, but if you are interested in the state of Italy and it's relationship with its past I highly recommend it. And while the history of different countries in Europe is, well, different, there is a lot to be understood about other far-right movements from the Italian case.

[Matthew O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very important book not only for understanding the rise of the Far-Right in Italy but also for understanding the rise of the far-right in Europe.

The book is very well written and I particularly enjoyed the writing of the PCI as I was very interested in that party. The far-right are using the same tricks in Italy as they are in Ireland, England and many other places.

this book is essential for anyone who wants to understand how fascism didn't die in 1945.

[Steven R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting history of Fratelli d'Italia and the Italian far right more broadly, highlights some very worrying trends that more than a little unnerving, especially in the current British context.

[Alex Barny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for everyone who wants to understand contemporary far right populist movements in Europe.
Sometimes a bit difficult to follow but very rewarding

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

An in-depth look into the growing power of neo/post-fascist parties in Italy. An important history of the methods used by these post-fascist parties to rise to power and prominence, as well as massage the ideology that they claim to have evolved beyond.

To a young person in the UK such as myself, the intricacies of the political landscape of Italy are not easy to stumble across, with only the loudest parts reaching the anglophone world. "Berlusconi was corrupt and a womaniser," or "Meloni and her party are fascists!" are about all that I'd ever really taken on of modern Italy's politics.

This book does a fantastic job of recounting the history of the post-fascist parties that allied with Berlusconi, and eventually led to Meloni's premiership, and is vital to the wider understanding of the new growth of the fascist and ultra-nationalist movements in Europe.

EDIT 17-08-23

After further discussions and thought, I've decided to lower my rating to three stars. My main reasoning for this is the lack of analysis of the counter forces to the rise of post-fascist parties, key to understanding, ultimately, their rise and what has failed to stop them, and caused their metamorphosis to their current state. A deeper look at the forces in opposition to the post-fascist parties are vital to understand not just the surface level of the movers and shakers of the parties themselves but the underlying forces driving the development of the right in Italy. Without the dialectic the audience is left a mere metaphysical view at a number of occasions, the party acted in a way 'just because'. The few times where the counter forces are analysed, like the discussion in Part 2 around the Trade Union march through Genoa, the picture of the whole becomes that much clearer. Understandably doing this throughout would have dramatically increased the size of the book, but the content is only around 200 pages long, and could definitely have been longer. These parts were, on reflection, the most readable and engaging sections. Much of the other parts were quite cumbersome to read and I found myself slogging through them to grip on to these more developed sections.