Pressure mounts on Meloni to break her silence over far-right youth group scandal

4 months ago 18

After weeks of silence from Fratelli d’Italia (FdI) over an investigation that revealed members of the party’s youth group praising Mussolini and far-right terrorists during their meetings, Senate President Ignazio La Russa condemned their actions while Giorgia Meloni has yet to comment.

In a post on Facebook, La Russa, the Senate President and co-founder of Fratelli d’Italia, expressed his “firm condemnation” of any form of racism and anti-Semitism and added the incidents go against the party’s values.

Italian media Fanpage launched an investigation into the youth wing of Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), revealing undercover footage of Roman salutes, young people praising Mussolini, and chanting fascist slogans.

La Russa’s statement came after the second part of the investigation captured a top leader of Gioventù Nazionale (Nationalist Youth) making anti-Semitic remarks about Fratelli d’Italia Senator and former spokeswoman for the Rome Jewish community, Ester Mieli, on a hidden camera.

“My most sincere and affectionate solidarity goes to Senator and friend Ester Mieli, who was the victim of unacceptable remarks from some members of Gioventù Nazionale,” he wrote.

FdI changed its stance within hours

On Wednesday, there was also a change of tone from Giovanni Donzelli, the organisation manager of FdI.

“I do not give any credibility to the biased investigations of the left-wing militant press. The attempt to portray Fratelli d’Italia as an extremist and nostalgic movement is pathetic,” Donzelli said in the afternoon.

However, by the evening, after the second part of the investigation was out, there was a U-turn, even announcing disciplinary measures.

“We reiterate: there is no place in Fratelli d’Italia for racists, extremists, and anti-Semites. The remarks heard in the videos released today, despite the way they were recorded and disclosed, are unacceptable and incompatible with the values of our political movement… Fratelli d’Italia will act with great firmness against those responsible.”

Meloni, public broadcaster now in the spotlight

The opposition, in light of the second video, which depicted homophobia, racism, nostalgia for Benito Mussolini, sympathies for Adolf Hitler, and Nazism within FdI’s youth group, continues to demand that Giorgia Meloni comment on the Fanpage investigation.

Many also demand that public broadcaster Rai show the investigation, as it has been covered on all channels and newspapers except for them.

In response, several associations and parties organised a screening outside the Rai headquarters in Turin on Wednesday evening in solidarity with the editorial committee of RaiNews24, which recently complained about the national public broadcaster’s lack of coverage of the investigation.

“If we can’t see it on Rai, let’s watch it on Rai,” was the slogan of the initiative, which broadcast the second instalment of the investigation on a big screen.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)