Charm of the Old Dictator
Yesterday, Berlusconi became the hero of Italy''s right when the Forza Italia and the post-fascist Alleanza Nationale combined. Will fascism emerge from the current economic crisis as it did in 1929?
When some Italian fans aped the Roman greeting of outstretched hands at a recent game, mass outrage arose. But the gesture exorcised a ghost in Italy. 'Fascism itself is not evil' says the Mayor of Rome, 'the racist laws it implies are'. With those around Berlusconi preferring fascism to democratic revolution of partisans, his growing power is a grave echo. 'Everywhere he goes the masses follow, just as they did Mussolini'.
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