The Italian government has been criticized for praising fascist soldiers who fought in El Alamein on the 82nd anniversary of the Second World War battle.
A social media post said those who took part had “sacrificed their lives for our freedom”, describing the Italian and Nazi losses to the Allies in North Africa as “heroic and tragic”.
Left-wing opposition parties denounce the comments. The Five Star Movement party said it was “inappropriate” to say Italian troops had fought for freedom, Reuters reported.
The row comes despite Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni making repeated attempts to distance her right-wing ruling party, the Brothers of Italy (Fdl), from Italy’s totalitarian past.
Fdl is a direct political descendant of the Italian Social Movement, which was formed after the war by members of Benito Mussolini’s fascist party.
Meloni has tried to distance the party’s modern incarnation from its origins, saying it will not tolerate racism, anti-Semitism or nostalgia for the Italian era under Mussolini.
Under fascist rule, Italy allied itself with Nazi Germany during World War II and fought alongside its forces in the North African Campaign.
The Second Battle of El Alamein – which began on October 23, 1942 – is considered the first major victory for Allied forces in World War II and a major turning point in the overall conflict.
Thousands of Italian soldiers were killed or captured, with the defeat denying the Axis powers’ military dominance over North Africa.
Paola Chiesa, an FDL politician, said the “heart of the nation” was in El Alamein on the anniversary of the start of the fighting.
The Five Star Movement disputed the government’s claim that Italian soldiers had fought for freedom, arguing that they were “victims of [the] colonial and fascist regime” of that time, according to Reuters.
The party has previously been criticized for failing to condemn celebrations of Italy’s fascist past.
In January, Meloni remained silent after hundreds of men were seen giving fascist salutes at a rally in Rome.
Elly Schlein, leader of the center-left Democratic Party (PD), said at the time that the constitution made it clear that “neofascist groups must be disbanded.”
Meloni says that Fdl should not be called ‘extreme right’. In April, she laid a wreath on Italy’s National Liberation Day, which celebrates independence from Nazi Germany and the end of fascism.
In July, she said she was “angry and saddened” by reports of members of the party’s youth wing giving fascist salutes and using racist and anti-Semitic language.
But critics note that the party still wears the same three-color flame logo used by neo-fascists after the war.
