A Brothers of Italy politician who collects fascist memorabilia has been elected speaker of the upper house of parliament in the first step towards the formation of Italy’s most right wing government since the second world war.
Ignazio La Russa, a former defence minister whose father was secretary of Benito Mussolini’s fascist party, co-founded Brothers of Italy alongside leader Giorgia Meloni, who is poised to become prime minister of a government that includes Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.
Voting for the election of a speaker to the lower house, which could go to the League’s Riccardo Molinari, will enter a second round on Thursday afternoon.
The new parliament was opened by Liliana Segre, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor and life senator who, in a speech that triggered a standing ovation, reminded parliamentarians of the 100th anniversary of Mussolini’s March on Rome later this month.
La Russa, whose middle name is Benito, began his political career with the youth wing of the Italian Social Movement, the party set up in 1946 by supporters of Mussolini.
Credit: theguardian.com
