Word: alemanno
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...With Berlusconi's return to power last month, and Fini's own protégé, Gianni Alemanno sweeping to victory in the race for Rome Mayor, Fini was sworn in last week at the helm of the Italian Parliament, hoping his extremist past was definitively behind him. But now, Fini is again on the spot over fascism, a victim of his own zeal to defend Israel...
...Fini and his allies, who have succeeded over the past decade in getting many Italians to forgive their radical right pasts, may still not quite get it. During Alemanno's ultimately successful run for mayor, the candidate responded to questions about certain allies who still proudly tout their fascist origins by noting that they had "visited Israel before Fini...
...having "Israel" stamped in your passport and publicly condemning anti-Semitism cannot alone remove lingering doubts about extremist tendencies. Mussolini's fascist ideology was all-encompassing, nationalistic and occasionally deadly - well before he adopted racial and anti-Semitic laws following Hitler's example. After his victory in Rome, Alemanno said all the right things about bringing the city together, but several of his supporters cheering him at the steps of city hall flashed the fascist Roman salute. He has made public safety his top issue in a city that statistics suggest is relatively safe, vowing to arm municipal police...
...After no mayor candidate secured a 50% majority in April 13-14 elections, Rutelli and Alemanno upped their attacks against each other in the closing days, with much of rhetoric circulating around the issue of public safety after a high-profile rape case in Rome. Rutelli said Alemanno's populistic exploitation of law-and-order issues helped explain his victory...
...much as any sharp rightward turn in the capital, Alemanno's win is a sure sign that the center-left is in a dismal state. Veltroni, who was pummeled by Berlusconi two weeks ago, said the loss of Rome to the center-right was cause for "reflection." One question sure to be reflected on deeply in coming days: whether Veltroni himself can survive as the head of the opposition having presided over two such cutting defeats in the course of a mere two weeks...