Meloni’s Government Mired in Controversy Over Praise of Fascist Soldiers on the Anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government faces backlash over the Italian Defense Ministry’s praise of Axis forces on the 82nd anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein (Wiki Commons)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government is facing criticism over a social media post by the Italian Defense Ministry praising fascist Italian soldiers who were killed or captured in the Battle of El Alamein on October 23, the 82nd anniversary of the World War ll battle.
The Defense Ministry’s post praised the Axis forces’ battle against the Allies, describing the conflict as “heroic and tragic.” The ministry also paid respect to the Italian soldiers who died in the battle, praising those “who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.” Similarly, Paola Chiesa, a politician of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy Party (FdI) and the head of the party’s delegation in the Italian Parliament’s defense commission, spoke about the anniversary of the battle, saying the “heart of the nation” was in El Alamein.
In October 1942, the 190,000 Allied soldiers under the command of British General Bernard Montgomery defeated Nazi and Italian forces led by German General Erwin Rommel in Egypt. The second battle of El Alamein was a significant turning point in World War II, turning the tide of the war in North Africa and leading to the Axis’ eventual expulsion from the region.
Critics have strongly condemned the Defense Ministry’s remarks. Mattia Guidi, an associate professor of political science at the University of Siena, said, “how you can associate El Alamein with having ‘fought for our freedom’ is beyond my comprehension.” Additionally, Gianfranco Pagliarulo, president of the National Partisans’ Association of Italy (ANPI), remarked, “Italian boys in El Alamein did not fall for our freedom, as ambiguously claimed by the Ministry of Defense, but were sent to die by the fascist government.”
Similarly, opposition parties have criticized the ministry’s statements. The Five Star Movement, a populist left-leaning coalition led by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, decried the remarks, releasing a statement recognizing the sacrifice and heroism of the fallen Italian soldiers while simultaneously calling it ‘inappropriate' to compare their struggles to that of fighting for freedom. In an issued statement, they wrote, “the memory of those 17,000 fallen Italians should be honored, certainly, but as victims of the bellicist and colonialist adventurism of the fascist regime.”
This is not the first time Meloni’s government has been mired in controversy over alleged support for fascist sentiment. In January, the Ministry of Defense published a calendar honoring soldiers who fought under Mussolini’s fascist regime, describing them as heroes. Additionally, Meloni and her allies in the Brothers of Italy have been criticized for not firmly declaring themselves as “anti-fascist.”
Meloni’s Brothers of Italy have their roots in the Italian Social Movement (MSI), formed in 1946 as a direct successor to Mussolini’s fascist Blackshirts. Critics of the FdI often point to its logo, the tricolor flame, as a well-known symbol of neo-fascism in Italy, while Meloni has tried to distance herself from totalitarianism and has spoken about her disdain for fascism.
On Italy’s National Liberation Day (April 25), celebrating the country’s independence from Nazi Germany and the end of fascism in Italy, Meloni took part in a wreath-laying ceremony. Later, on July 2, as a response to fascist salutes and the use of antisemitic language by members of the FdI’s youth wing, she said she was “angry and saddened,” and firmly proclaimed that there was “no room for nostalgia for the totalitarian systems of the 20th century, or for any other display of foolish folklore.”
Prime Minister Meloni has not commented on the latest controversy surrounding the Defense Ministry’s statements.