Italy may be the first European country to develop a revisionist theory of World War II. Two weeks ago, Gianfranco Fini, leader of the neofascist National Alliance, called Mussolini “the greatest statesman of the century.” And Fini is not some crackpot from the political fringe. He belongs to a three-party rightist bloc called the Freedom Alliance, which won an outright majority in last month’s national election. When Parliament convenes at the end of this week, he and his partners will try to form a government.
The resurgence of the right is a reaction to Italy’s Political-corruption scandals, as well as the failures of the left. But the right is far from mono lithic. Its leading light is media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. the founder of a three-month-old party called Forza Italia (Let’s go, Italy). He advocates radical free-market reforms, including privatization of the health service. Fini’s National Alliance-which counts Mussolini’s granddaughter Alessandra among its members of Parliament-favors a centralized welfare state, while the third partner, the Northern League, demands more regional autonomy.
The head of the league, Umberto Bossi, balks at Berlusconi’s leadership; last week he called him “Berluskaiser.” In return, Berlusconi called Bossi “a wounded wild boar.” How the discordant threesome will manage to govern remains to be seen. Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro will have to sort out the good from the bad and invite one of them to become prime minister.
