Chapter 91: Resistance

346     “Dear editor, today . . .” “President Meloni’s Letter to the Corriere della Sera Newspaper on Liberation Day,” Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Italian Government, April 25, 2023, www.governo.it/it/node/22468.

346     Italy’s most widely circulated newspaper  “DMS Data 2025: February 2025 Newspapers, Weekly Newspaper Editions,” Accertamenti Diffusione Stampa (ADS), accessed March 25, 2025, available at www.adsnotizie.it/Dati/DMS_Page#, via Google Translate. Meloni had previously written several other letters to Corriere della Sera to make a political point, including one proposing sea desalination for drinking water (July 10, 2022), one on immigration—condemning comparisons between the Italian immigrants who lost their lives in Belgium in the Marcinelle mining disaster in 1956 to contemporary immigrants to Italy (August 7, 2022), and one on Italian anarchist Alfredo Cospito (February 4, 2023). Giorgia Meloni, “Giorgia Meloni: More Technological Water Network and Drinkable Water from the Sea. This Is How to Fight Drought (While Respecting the Environment),” Corriere della Sera, July 10, 2022, http://www.corriere.it/cronache/22_luglio_10/giorgia-meloni-lettera-9dd6f7aa-ffb9-11ec-a15c-229c03190307.shtml, via Google Translate; Meloni, “Marcinelle and the Migrants, Different Stories,” opinion, Corriere della Sera, August 7, 2022, www.corriere.it/opinioni/22_agosto_07/marcinelle-migranti-storie-diverse-f5c6d216-1687-11ed-9b98-cecb1a656088.shtml, via Google Translate; and Meloni, “Meloni on the Cospito Case: ‘No Basis for Delmastro’s Resignation. Now Everyone Should Tone It Down, Including Fratelli d’Italia,’" Corriere della Sera, February 23, 2023, www.corriere.it/politica/23_febbraio_04/meloni-cospito-lettera-ac56d0dc-a484-11ed-a9a2-20247d5f06f9.shtml, via Google Translate.

346     a long history of associating migrants and crime  A study of headlines and articles in Corriere della Sera from 1992 to 2009 found an enduring “association between migrants and crime” in the paper’s content. See Lorenzo Montali et al, “The Representation of Migrants in the Italian Press: A Study on the Corriere della Sera (1992–2009),” Journal of Language and Politics 12, no. 2 (January 2013) ,doi.org/10.1075/jlp.12.2.04mon, 226, 239.

346     “I hope” . . . ”contribute to making . . . bastion of democracy”  “President Meloni’s letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Liberation Day,” Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Italian Government, www.governo.it/it/node/22468.

346     “saw these reflections fully mature . . .”  “President Meloni’s letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Liberation Day,” www.governo.it/it/node/22468.

346     corruption scandals . . . ran for mayor of Rome . . . ran for mayor of Naples  William Drozdiak, “Italians Use Vote to Vent Anger Over Scandals,” Washington Post, November 22, 1993, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/11/23/italians-use-vote-to-vent-anger-over-scandals/2d7e5f39-eb88-430f-8568-38323e380f58/. 

346     47 percent of the vote . . . 44 percent . . . Both lost  Piero Ignazi, Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2003), 44. Find the library book at search.worldcat.org/title/62132369.

346     never secured even 10 percent  MSI’s best performance in parliamentary elections to that point had been in 1972, when the party secured 8.67% of votes for the Chamber of Deputies and 9.19% of votes for the Senate. Chamber of Deputies, May 7, 1972, The Historical Archive of Elections, elezionistorico.interno.gov.it/index.php?tpel=C&dtel=07/05/1972&es0=S&tpa=I&lev0=0&levsut0=0&ms=S&tpe=A, via Google Translate; and Senate, May 7, 1972, The Historical Archive of Elections, elezionistorico.interno.gov.it/index.php?tpel=S&dtel=07/05/1972&es0=S&tpa=I&lev0=0&levsut0=0&ms=S&tpe=A, via Google Translate.

346     caused . . . to turn to the MSI  Berlusconi had voiced support for Gianfranco Fini in the mayoral election in Rome, saying, “If I were in Rome, I would certainly vote for Fini.” After Berlusconi launched Forza Italia (FI) in January 1994, “In southern and central Italy, FI and Fini’s party were able to agree to run on a common platform, the Pole of Good Government, which produced a common slate of FI and AN [National Alliance] candidates.” Tom Gallagher, “Exit from the Ghetto: The Italian Far Right in the 1990s,” in The Politics of the Extreme Right: From the Margins to the Mainstream, ed. Paul Hainsworth (London: Pinter, 2000), 72 (Berlusconi quote), 73 (on FI and AN). Visit search.worldcat.org/title/957700940to find an edition of this book at your local library.

346     announced the rebranding  Fini created the National Alliance organization in January 1994. MSI was dissolved a year later and became the National Alliance party. Alan Cowell, “Berlusconi and Cabinet with Neo-Fascists Take Office in Italy,” New York Times, May 12, 1994, www.nytimes.com/1994/05/12/world/berlusconi-and-cabinet-with-neo-fascists-take-office-in-italy.html; and “The Italian Right: 3 Men to Watch: Gianfranco Fini, National Alliance,” New York Times, March 30, 1994, https://nyti.ms/3XxNAmN, 6; and Peter Shadbolt “Italy’s Hard Right Dissolves fascist past,” United Press International (UPI), January 28, 1995, www.upi.com/Archives/1995/01/28/Italys-hard-right-dissolves-fascist-past/1080791269200/.

346–347     formed a coalition and a political party. . . to take on . . .  William D. Montalbano, “Rightists Win Historic Vote in Italy: Europe: Media Tycoon Silvio Berlusconi Is Front-Runner for Prime Minister; His Three-Party Alliance Leads in Both Houses of Parliament. Corruption Furor Propels Shift from Centrist Rule,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1994, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-29-mn-39808-story.html. Berlusconi’s announcement of Forza Italia on January 26, 1994 can be seen at Forza Italia, “Silvio Berlusconi—Discorso discesa in campo—26 gennaio 1994,” YouTube, January 25, 2024, youtu.be/aStF2b5ryJg?si=6oaJPb2nCTPKnebp.

347     founded . . . became the largest private broadcaster in Italy “Factbox: Berlusconi’s Business Empire,” Reuters, August 1, 2013, www.reuters.com/article/world/factbox-berlusconis-business-empire-idUSBRE97017P/; and Agustino Fontevecchia, “Berlusconi’s Tax Fraud: Using Offshore Accounts to Make $349M on U.S. TV and Movie Rights,” Forbes, October 26, 2012, www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2012/10/26/berlusconis-tax-evasion-using-offshore-accounts-to-make-349m-on-u-s-tv-and-movie-rights/.

347     became prime minister of the first . . . since World War II Alan Cowell, “Italy’s Right Wing Heads for Victory in Landmark Vote,” New York Times, March 29, 1994, www.nytimes.com/1994/03/29/world/italy-s-right-wing-heads-for-victory-in-landmark-vote.html; and William Drozdiak, “No Fascists in Cabinet, Italy’s New Premier Says,” Washington Post, May 26, 1994, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/05/27/no-fascists-in-cabinet-italys-new-premier-says/4e6113ff-b301-4ac9-be74-214beefc3a6c/.

347     usurped  George Newth, “Matteo Salvini, Giorgia Meloni, and ‘Post-Fascism’ as Political Logic,” Political Studies Association, September 9, 2022, www.psa.ac.uk/matteo-salvini-giorgia-meloni-and-post-fascism-as-political-logic/.

347     Four days after the election . . . in . . . La Stampa  Alan Cowell, “Leader of Italian Neo-Fascists Praises Mussolini,” New York Times, April 2, 1994, www.nytimes.com/1994/04/02/world/leader-of-italian-neo-fascists-praises-mussolini.html.