Opponents slam Meloni’s government for glorifying Mussolini’s soldiers

Italy’s right-wing government is facing backlash after the country’s defense ministry said the defeated fascist soldiers of dictator Benito Mussolini had died for the country’s freedom.

“We honor the brave Italian soldiers who fought in the sands of North Africa. With them we remember with deference all the #Fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our freedom,” said the defense ministry in a post on X on Wednesday, marking 82 years since the defeat of Italian fascists in the second battle of El Alamein during World War II.

That 1942 battle, in which the Axis armies of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany suffered a major defeat, is considered a significant step toward victory of the Allies in the war as it prevented the enemy from further advancing into North Africa and the Middle East.

The post sparked immediate criticism from academics and opposition parties on social media.

The left-populist party 5Star Movement of former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte issued a statement critical of the defense ministry’s portrayal of the fallen soldiers as the freedom fighters.

“The Ministry of Defense celebrates on X the fallen of El-Alamein by talking about valor, sacrifice, heroism and courage — all true — but inappropriately juxtaposes their memory with that of those who died fighting for freedom, to say the least. 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,” said the statement.

Mario Macis, a professor of economics at John Hopkins University, said that the Italians during the battle fought “to suppress the freedom of others.”

“There is nothing to be proud of, only cause for shame and the need to apologize,” Macis wrote in a post on X.

Brothers of Italy, the ruling party led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, traces its roots back to the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a group that was formed by ex-fascists after World War II. While Meloni has rejected the claims that the party is a home to neofascists and tried to move her party away from the political fringes, scandals continue to plague the party.

It is also not the first time the country’s defense ministry has come under scrutiny. Back in January, it prompted public outcry after it published a calendar that honored soldiers for heroism while fighting for Mussolini’s regime.