Italy faced massive political outrage late Monday after a video was released showing hundreds of far-right members saluting Nazis.
Opposition leaders called for the neo-fascist organization to be disbanded following the video.
“Rome, January 7, 2024. It feels like 1924,” Ellie Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, posted on Facebook, when Italy was ruled by Benito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party. did.
“As provided by the Constitution, neo-fascist organizations must be disbanded.”
Videos published by newspapers, including Italy’s historic newspaper Corriere della Sera, showed hundreds of people lining up, shouting “attend” and raising their hands three times in a fascist salute. There is.
Most of them appear to be men, wearing mostly black clothing. AFP was unable to independently verify the footage.
The video was shot Sunday night at an event commemorating the anniversary of the 1978 murders of two teenage right-wing activists, according to newspaper reports.
The crowd appeared to be gathering in front of the former Rome headquarters of the Italian Socialist Movement (MSI), a political party formed by Mussolini’s supporters after World War II, where far-left activists attacked teenagers. He is believed to have been shot to death.
No one was ever convicted in connection with the death. A third MSI youth wing member was killed by a stray bullet during the ensuing riot.
Schlein called on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the post-fascist Italian Brothers party, an offshoot of MSI, to condemn the incident.
The Democratic Party also called on the government to disband neo-fascist groups and “use all means against fascist apologists.”
The opposition Five Star Movement intends to file a complaint with the Rome public prosecutor’s office to establish whether any crimes were committed, AGI news agency reported.
In a statement, Meloni’s party accused him of using “the memory of the tragic deaths of three young boys, who were murdered in hatred of communism, for evil propaganda.”