Italy's Prime Minister under fire after photo of her minister wearing Nazi uniform resurfaces

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian far-right politician and leader of the Italian Brotherhood party came to power as Prime Minister of Italy on 22 October 2022 and is thefirst woman to lead the office in Italy’s history.

In the wake offorming the new Meloni government, many experts feared the resurrection of Italy’s fascist past or the ‘return of the country’s darkest hour’.

A haunting past

Meloni announced on Monday in a press conference in Rome the appointment of many senior governmental positions, including that of Galeazzo Bignami as deputy minister of infrastructure, Euronews reports.

In the recent elections, Bignami has been elected to serve his second term as an Italian parliamentarian.

A local newspaper in the past published a damning picture, dating from 2005, of Bignami and another man, wearing a Nazi uniform and a svastika.

The image caused a great uproar in the past and now drove renewed criticism towards Meloni for appointing Bignami.

The image was first published in 2016, and Bignami at one point declared feeling ‘profound shame and called Nazism as ‘the absolute evil’, The Telegraph reports.

Meanwhile, Marco Furfaro, a Democratic parliamentarian, in a tweet criticized harshly the newly elected Prime Minister.

‘Shame on you Giorgia Meloni, calling Mr. Bignami’s appointment an indecency against the constitution, history, memory and victims of that swastika.’

Naming fascist sympathisers in senior positions

While Meloni has repeatedly tried to distance herself and her party from fascist roots, naming Bignami as a deputy minister and other far-right politicians who have a troubled track record fantasizing about fascism proves the contrary.

According to The Telegraph, Claudio Durigon, the newly appointed undersecretary at the labour ministry, had once proposed renaming a park in the town of Latina after the brother of Benito Mussolini.

Meanwhile, politicians from left-wing parties including the Italian National Association of Partisans warned that the appointments prove the current right-wing government is turning a blind eye to fascist sympathisers.

Sources used:

-Euronews: ‘Italy: Meloni's deputy minister blasted over 2005 Nazi uniform photo’

-The Telegraph: ‘Giorgia Meloni appoints minister who once wore Nazi armband’