The History of the MSI

Italy’s liberation during the Second World War was meant to have consigned fascism to history. But eight decades later, the country has a prime minister from the far-right tradition; Giorgia Meloni’s party is directly descended from the diehard supporters of Benito Mussolini who reorganized after the war.

David Broder, Europe editor for Jacobin and the author of Mussolini’s Grandchildren, discusses Italy’s far right from the fall of Mussolini until the point when Giorgia Meloni entered the political stage. This is the first part of a two-part interview. You can hear the second part of David’s interview about Meloni’s rise to power in our next episode.

Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.