Mussolini’s great-grandson is standing for the EU elections in Italy

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's great-grandson plans to run in next month's European parliamentary elections on behalf of an Italian far-right party, local media reports.

Published: 9 April 2019 12:16 CEST

Mussolini's great-grandson is standing for the EU elections in Italy

The ideology of dictator Benito Mussolini is still surprisingly popular - and tolerated - in Italy. Photo: Vituzzu/Wikicommons.

Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini, a 50-year-old former submariner, aims to run as a candidate for the Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party, Il Messaggero said.

“So many people want to put Mussolini on the ballot,” the paper quoted him as saying.

“Tanti vogliono scrivere Mussolini sulla scheda” dice Caio Giulio Cesare. Siamo in pieno situazionismo pic.twitter.com/fShXouwK4n

— Francesco Maselli (@FrMaselli) April 9, 2019

Italy could now end up with two Mussolinis in the European Parliament.

Caio Giulio Cesare is the first cousin once removed of Alessandra Mussolini, the dead fascist leader's granddaughter who has been an MEP since 2014.

Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Benito. Photo: AFP

Born in Argentina, Mussolini has no previous political experience but “obviously I've breathed politics my whole life,” he told the daily.

He described himself to Il Fatto Quotidiano as “a post-fascist who refers to those values in a non-ideological way”.

He said he thought he was chosen as a candidate not for his family name but for his first names, the Italian form of “Gaius Julius Caesar”, as well as his sense of duty and international experience.

If elected, he said he would “defend the national interest with all my actions and votes”, in line with the nationalist stance of Fratelli d'Italia.

The party won 4.4 percent of votes in last year's Italian national election, in which is ran as part of a right-wing bloc alongside Matteo Salvini's League party and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

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The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” — adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The “Report” programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.