Post-fascism is a label that identifies political parties and movements that transition from a fascist political ideology to a more moderate and mainline form of

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, abandoning the totalitarian traits of fascism and taking part in constitutional politics

In Italy

The

Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...

(''Movimento Sociale Italiano'', MSI) was a neo-fascist political party established in Italy in 1946 by former members of the National Fascist Party and the Republican Fascist Party. Despite being an explicitly fascist party, the MSI included a post-fascist faction headed by

Arturo Michelini Arturo Michelini (17 February 1909 – 15 June 1969) was an Italian politician and secretary of the Italian Social Movement (MSI). A minor party official during the days of Italian fascism and a war veteran, Michelini emerged as one of the two ...

and

Alfredo Covelli Alfredo Covelli (22 February 1914 – 25 December 1998) was an Italian monarchist politician. He was the leader of the Monarchist National Party. Covelli was born in Bonito, Campania. He graduated in literature and philosophy, in law and ...

, who favoured political cooperation with moderate conservative parties, such as the

Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

, the

Monarchist National Party The Monarchist National Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Monarchico, PNM) was a political party in Italy founded in 1946, uniting conservatives, liberal conservatives and nationalists. It was a right-wing competitor to Christian Democracy and was esp ...

and the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party ...

. In 1977 a moderate faction of the MSI led by Covelli split away and established

National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National Democracy (Poland) * National Democracy (Spain) See also * Civic nationalism, a general concept * Na ...

(''Democrazia Nazionale'', DN), the first real post-fascist party in Italy. Covelli attempted to create an alliance between DN and the Christian Democracy, but electoral results were very poor and DN was eventually disbanded in 1979. The MSI eventually repudiated fascism in a party congress held in

Fiuggi Fiuggi ( Central-Northern Latian dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio in central Italy. The town of Fiuggi became famous for its Acqua di Fiuggi (Fiuggi Water) which flows from its natural ...

in 1995, where the party voted to disband itself and transform into National Alliance (''Alleanza Nazionale'', AN), a party which has been labeled by several scholars and journalists, including academic

Roger Griffin Roger David Griffin (born 31 January 1948) is a British professor of modern history and political theorist at Oxford Brookes University, England. His principal interest is the socio-historical and ideological dynamics of fascism, as well as va ...

, as a "post-fascist" party. A minority faction in the MSI, led by

Pino Rauti Giuseppe Umberto "Pino" Rauti (19 November 1926 – 2 November 2012) was an Italian fascist and politician who was a leading figure on the radical right for many years, although Rauti was describing himself as a "leftist" and "non-fascist." Invo ...

, refused to abandon fascism and created a new party called Social Movement Tricolour Flame. The far-right party

Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Accor ...

(''Fratelli d'Italia'', FdI), which was established in 2012 by several former members of AN and currently leads the government of Italy, has also been described as post-fascist party. However, FdI has also been described as a

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...

party.

References

Fascism {{Poli-stub