The eternal bonfire of the opposition between fascism and anti-fascism continues to burn powerfully. Accusations and ghosts are never lacking, such as the attempt to keep alive current events and the specter of the eternal return of the black threat and the illiberal wave. April 25th is naturally the occasion in which the evocation of the enemy becomes more violent, including polemical messages, riots and street slogans. It happened in the past, let alone with a government with Brothers of Italy as the driving force.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the Liberation, however, the three deputy prime ministers overturn the pattern, displace the center-left and utter words that are difficult to misunderstand and interpret, aligning the government with decidedly anti-fascist positions. Giorgia Meloni first chooses to dictate a message on social media to silence critics and opponents. The Prime Minister attended the ceremony at the Altare della Patria in the company of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, then posting a snapshot of himself and accompanying it with a very precise position: «On the day in which Italy celebrates the Liberation, which with the end of fascism it laid the foundations for the return of democracy, we reiterate our aversion to all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. Those of yesterday, who oppressed the people in Europe and around the world, and those of today, who we are determined to oppose with commitment and courage. We will continue to work to defend democracy and for an Italy finally capable of uniting on the value of freedom. Long live freedom!
If Giorgia Meloni puts all totalitarianism and authoritarianism in her sights, Matteo Salvini celebrates on April 25th in Milan at the Shrine of the fallen of all wars. «What if it is an anti-fascist government? It is a government chosen by the citizens. Then anti-fascism yes, it seems obvious to me. But then, does anyone have nostalgia for fascism? No, I hope not”, he declared on the sidelines of the event. «But what a first time, I have always honored April 25th without having to flaunt it and without politicizing it», underlines the Minister of Infrastructure. With reporters asking him to account for the Scurati case: «Long live books, long live culture, long live freedom of thought and speech. A book is never a provocation.” To journalists who ask him why he wasn’t made to read the monologue on Rai, Salvini replies tersely: “Ask those who didn’t make him speak.” Then there is the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, who participates in the ceremony of awarding the gold medal for civil merit to the Province of Frosinone for the suffering suffered during the Second World War. And he launches an invitation to change the eternal score of the party with a limited and exclusive perimeter. «For no reason is it allowed to debase the unique meaning of the Liberation or fill it with contents extraneous to that precious juncture of Italian history, from which democracy originated. Any attempt to legitimize ideological battles, thus decontextualizing the anniversary of April 25th, is equivalent to appropriating everyone’s identity for the reasons of some.”
The final comment is that of Antonio Tajani who, participating in the commemoration at the Mausoleum of the Fosse Ardeatine, photographs a factual circumstance: «The Constitution of the Republic condemns fascism and is anti-fascist. When one swears on the Constitution it is like this, fascism died eighty years ago. In addition to civilians, the military also gave an extraordinary example of loyalty to the Italian flag, giving an example to many citizens who fought alongside them in Kefalonia, in Mignano Monte Lungo.
A people who defended national independence.”
