Word: fini
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...National Alliance has spent the past few years distancing itself from its extremist past. Five years ago, Gianfranco Fini, the longtime National Alliance party chief, used the words "absolute evil" to describe Mussolini's regime. Coming at the conclusion of his first trip to Israel, the then deputy Prime Minister appeared to have definitively separated his party from its fascist origins. This week's comments have undone a lot of that work...
...party that Bossi leads has long flirted with secession, even while he and his lieutenants have served key ministerial posts in three governments of the Italian Republic. But his latest act of national scorn has brought down the fury of Berlusconi's other key ally, lower-house president Gianfranco Fini, whose post-Fascist past makes him the leader of the most explicitly patriotic faction in the three-month-old government. "A Cabinet minister cannot offend national sentiment," Fini proclaimed on Monday, demanding that Bossi "clarify" his thoughts. Bossi bit back quickly, saying that Fini would have been better off staying...
...Fini tried to explain himself by noting that he had prefaced his remarks by stating his "zero tolerance" for the neo-Nazi violence, but argued that the attack - which apparently began when the gang demanded Tommasoli's pack of cigarettes - was non-ideological in nature. He said the burning of Israeli flags, on the other hand, was evidence that "the radical left is a widespread political movement that gives life to political-religious prejudices...
...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...
...Ultimately, the issue that Europe's extreme right is focused on now is not Israel or Jews, but immigrants. During Berlusconi's last government, Fini was coauthor with rightist Northern League ally Umberto Bossi of a series of severe anti-immigration measures, including instant deportations and requirements that foreigners must have a fixed job to remain in the country. The next time fascist nostalgics or neo-Nazis attack a defenseless man on the street, there is a high probability it will be an immigrant. Such assaults in the past have indeed been aimed at immigrants. And that too is part...