Social Alternative

In 1992 - 1995, Alessandra Mussolini was a member of the traditional neo-fascist party Italian Social Movement ( MSI ), in 1995 - 2003 - in the national conservative National Alliance ( AN ) created on the basis of MSI Gianfranco Fini . In November 2003, an acute conflict arose between the granddaughter of Duce and the leader of AN: while in Israel , Fini called fascism "the absolute evil of the 20th century." Such a statement was unacceptable to Alessandra Mussolini, whose political image was formed on associations with his grandfather. Mussolini's granddaughter defiantly broke with AN.

Mussolini set about forming her party

• " Social Action ", originally called Lista Alessandra Mussolini - Libertà di Azione - "Alessandra Mussolini's List - Freedom of Action"

whose program was not much different from AN, but at a rhetorical level more closely resembled the MSI tradition. In 2004, elections to the European Parliament were coming. The party needed allies. These are:

• the conservative- traditionalist “New Force” ( FN ) Roberto Fiore , who was accused of terrorism in the 1980s and was in exile until 1999

• the radical neo-fascist Social National Front ( FSN ) Adriano Tilger , a former activist of the National Avant-garde , ally Stefano Delle Chiaye

• since 2005 , the Fiamma Tricolore party, the largest of the neo-fascist organizations in Italy, was created in 1995 on the initiative of Pinot Rauti , but led by Luca Romagnoli at that time

At first, Pinot Rauti, who also led Fiamma Tricolore, also adjoined the block. But already in January 2004, Rauti refused to play the role of “a taxi to Europe for Alessandra Mussolini”:

My party unites those who are Black. I thought for the elections to collect under our symbol all groups of dissenters. But instead ... only Roman fireworks and appeals to the Duce ^[1] .

It is significant that the convinced fascist Rauti did not see Mussolini’s granddaughter as a principled like-minded person.

The coalition is called the Social Alternative ( AS ). In the 2004 European elections, AS received 1.2% of the vote, which secured the mandate of Alessandra Mussolini. Given the limited political resource, such a result could be considered successful.

But to repeat even it in the regional elections of 2005 failed. The coalition gained an average of about 1%, the maximum indicator - 2% - was reached in Lazio , where Mussolini herself unsuccessfully ran for.

The 2005 election in Lazio was accompanied by scandals that severely undermined the position of AS. Initially, the coalition’s electoral list was rejected due to irregularities during the subscription campaign. A sharp - and completely non-ideological - conflict arose between Alessandra Mussolini and the head of the region, Francesco Storace , an authoritative extreme right-wing figure, the leader of La Destra . At the same time, Alessandra Mussolini behaved sharply emotionally, up to accusations of conspiracy, public cry and a hunger strike ^[2] .

Subsequently, it turned into a major political scandal Laziogate - "Latsiogate", during which Storace, by then becoming the Minister of Health of Italy, was accused of "political espionage" for Mussolini and was forced to leave the government. The situation did not increase the prestige of the ultra-right, prompting observers to think and generalize:

Half a century of violent clashes over personal hatred. Fantastic stories between colleagues ^[3] .

In the 2006 parliamentary elections, Alessandra Mussolini was blocked with the House of Liberties Silvio Berlusconi . This provoked a sharply negative reaction from Fiore, and especially Tilger. Successive neo-fascists considered ideological concessions unacceptable. Berlusconi also declared unacceptable to the "House of Freedom" such allies as FN and FSN.

The coalition was on the verge of a split. Observers felt that an alliance with figures such as Tilger and Fiore - more experienced, tough, ideologically motivated, brought to justice for extremism and terrorism - was originally the mistake of Alessandra Mussolini, a relatively moderate system politician.

February 16, 2006 Mussolini, Tilger and Fiore held a joint press conference at which they announced their refusal to nominate their own candidates for parliament ^[4] . At the same time, they demanded that their party positions, mainly of a social nature, be included in the coalition program: assistance to the south of Italy, state support for the family, restriction of bank interest on loans, strengthening security measures, expanding plebiscite forms of self-government. At the same time, a heated debate began between Alessandra Mussolini and the Fiamma Tricolore party, which, according to the "Rautian" tradition, began to introduce pro-socialist theses - socialization of profits, the participation of workers in production management - dating back to the ideology of the Republican Fascist Party and the Italian Social Republic of 1943 - 1945 years . It was obvious that such installations of Mussolini-grandfather were unacceptable for Berlusconi and, accordingly, for Mussolini-granddaughter. A sharp controversy ensued ^[5] ; Fiamma Tricolore was followed by accusations of withdrawing from the covenants of "Grandfather Benito." The controversy on the web was accompanied by a hack into the site of Alessandra Mussolini.

Another requirement was the inclusion of Mauro Floriani, the husband of Alessandra Mussolini, in Berlusconi's “ Forward, Italy ” party list. A few days later, Mussolini herself was again nominated. Such zigzags, combined with ideological instability, exacerbated the irritation of the AS allies.

As a result, AS received only 255 thousand votes in the elections to the Chamber of Deputies (0.7%) and 214 thousand in the elections to the Senate (0.6%). Not a single mandate was received in any of the chambers.

Alessandra Mussolini made a conclusion from defeat about the need for an alliance with Berlusconi on his terms. She actually abandoned her own political projects and joined the Forward Italy party. This allowed her, with the support of Berlusconi, to be elected to parliament in 2008 and continue her political career ^[6] . FN, FSN and Fiamma Tricolore continued their independent activities.

The Social Alternative coalition, in its design, gave the impression of a consolidated front of the Italian ultra-right. The name of Mussolini, the alleged participation of veteran ideologist Rauti, the involvement of other Lead seventies activists symbolized historical continuity, and the social accents of the program corresponded to the spirit of the times. However, the project failed due to contradictions between the participants, the pragmatic goals of Alessandra Mussolini and the effectiveness of Berlusconi’s policy, which “monopolized” the right flank of Italian politics ^[7] .