CREEPING COUP D'ETAT

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Italy is on the brink of a crisis which may end in civil war. The ruling class is preparing to destroy the trade unions and the left by force. Already the army, police and many monopolies have declared allegiance to fascismonce more a powerful force in Italian society.

The focus of this dramatic ideological shift IS the MSI (Italian Social Movement). Led has 56 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and is the third biggest party many areas of Italy, notably Sicily and the south.

The MSI is a fascist party. It cannot call itself such, since fascism is "illegal' in Italy (as are gestures, speeches, uniforms, meetings, etc, of a fascist character, regulations para-military police consistently ignore).

In public the MSI maintains a cynical front of ultra-conservative respectability. The duplicity that pervades the movement was expressed by one supporter who remarked, when Almirante became leader in 1969: For 15 years under Michelini [the old 'conservative' general secretary] the party was dead. We fascists ... excuse me . . we of the national right were dead... then he came and we all woke up. He was right when he said "less stuffed shirts and more stick"' Almirante, who plasters his walls with pictures of Il Duce Mussolini, says is now leader of the 'national right'destra nazionale. In fact MSI members responsible for bomb attacks, terror against militants ano the systematic murder of left-wing activists which generally take place bethe loving eyes of the To carry out this work, the MSI leaders and deputies control bands of armed 'squadristi' -youth fired by the example of the Black Shirts Nazis who are pledged to the physical destruction of communists and socialists. (The connections between the MSI and fascist terror organizations will be revealed in tomorrow's article.)

But it is the carefully-contrived sobriety that is the most sinister aspect of MSI. This image is a deliberate ploy by fascists to reassure their supporters within the ruling Christian Democratic Party, the state and big business. The capitalist class, as always, is a little squeamish over the methods of fascism. It knows it needs the thugs but does not like their activities thrust under its nose.

'Respectability' also provides a convenient cover for the rapid developments towards fascism within the police and the special detachments of the army. ( (The support for fascism within industry and the state will also be analysed in a later article.)

The growth of Italian fascism is connected directly to the crisis of imperialism and the chronic malaise that grips capitalism in the Common Market. Investment in Italy is stagnant. Unemployment gets higher every month. The home economy is unable to sustain the lira, which was devalued two days ago. This will mean bankruptcy for many small firms which depend largely on imported raw materials.

The big monopolies, for their part, are keen supporters of the MSI idea of a greater European economic community. This will embrace fascist Spain and the colonels' Greece. MSI wants to smash all resistance to capitalism by destroying free trade unions and constructing a corporate state on the Hitler-Mussolini model. This is sweet music to industrial giants like Fiat, Pirelli and Montedison.

The story of the Italian fascist revival is a grave warning to British workers. The very forces preparing the reign of terror in Italy are present in the UK and the Common Market. Alarmed by the fear of crisis, they are also baying for action. Italy proves the immediate prospect in Europe is either fascism or socialism.

The origins of the MSI are to be found in the remnants and relics of the Mussolini era. The few fanatical fascists left after the execution of Mussolini in April 1945 regrouped and formed their own party in December 1946.

Many of these men now hold high MSI office.

Almirante himself had to He was desperate and outraged when this information was posted over wide areas of Italy by socialist councillors a year shooter f massacrer and tor- ago. They called him 'a turer' the Italian people. Almirante took them to court and pathetically denied signing the infamous execution order. The judge thought otherwise and found that the words complained of were true.

Other Mussolini men include Pino Romualdi, MSI president and senator in Italy's upper house of parliament. He is an illegitimate son of Mussolini and organised Il Duce's retreat into Switzerland-not very efficiently since Romualdi quickly surrendered to the communist-led partisans.

MSI senator Araldo Di Crollalanza was Mussolini's Minister of Public Works and must have had a hand in building the exhibition centre outside Rome-a temple to the fascist mystique-where the MSI held its congress last week. Mussolini tra hang around the other fossils of the fringes of the movement. They make appearances at MSI gatherings and play hero to the youthful 'squadristi' who thrill at the days when the jack-boot ruled Italy.

One of these fascist pensioners, General Bergonzoli, in an impromptu address to an enthusiastic crowd last week, rediscovered some of his malevolent spirit as he spoke. His face flushed and his white beard wagged at the spontaneous applause (Bergonzoli looks like Ezra Pound, the poet who broadcast for the fascists in Italy. Pound is an MSI cult figure and his works do a brisk sale at the big meetings).

These connections with the past show that fascism never really died in Italy. After the collapse of Mussolini the Communist Party and the partisans effectively held the power. But under Stalin's orders, the CP held back the masses and worked for a coalition with the reformists and the social The coalition made no real im of thi yei VO lat wi mi pr