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Title: Benito Mussolini Named ‘Man of the Year’ by Italian Newspaper in ‘Provocative’ Move

SEO Keywords: Benito Mussolini, Man of the Year, Italy, Fascism, Giorgia Meloni, Libertà, Satire, Controversy, Humor, Normalization of Fascism

Meta Description: Italian newspaper Libertà causes controversy by naming fascist dictator Benito Mussolini ‘Man of the Year,’ sparking debate on Italy’s relationship with its fascist past.

Article:

Italian newspaper Libértà, known for its close ties to the country’s right-wing government, has sparked controversy and outrage by naming fascist dictator Benito Mussolini as its «Årets mann» for 2024.

The cover of Tuesday’s edition of the Rome-based newspaper featured a bust of Mussolini with the caption:

“)]বলে gratuitously ,” at the top of his game, on a par with football star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The move has been widely criticized, with many viewing it as a disturbing normalization of fascism in Italy. Critics argue that Libertà, and by extension its ally Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, are trivializing and endorsing a brutal regime that persecuted and killed thousands of Italians and persecuted Jews during World War II.

Mario Sechi, Libertà’s editor-in-chief and a former spokesperson for Meloni, defended the decision in an editorial. «It’s a satirical comment on the left’s obsession with fascism,» he wrote, adding that the choice was meant to provoke «those who still haven’t gotten the message: fascism is dead and buried.

Not everyone finds the joke funny. «It’s grotesque and obscene,» said Alan Friedman, an American author and TV personality who lives in Italy. «Mussolini was not just a dictator. He was a genocidal dictator,» Friedman told The Times.

Critics also point out that Libertà’s front page winked at a disturbing aspect of Mussolini’s legacy. Below the dictator’s bust was a dagger and a fasces, symbols of fascism. The fasces, a bundle of sticks with an axe head, was also part of the logo of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a post-fascist party founded by Mussolini’s followers after World War II. Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy, has ties to MSI.

Meloni, who has worked hard to distance herself from Mussolini, has not commented on Libertà’s stunt. Her party has roots in MSI, and the flame in the party’s logo is a nod to MSI’s trefleur logo, which featured a tricolor flame over Mussolini’s tomb.

The kåring comes amid a heated debate in Italy about the country’s fascist past. Some on the right seek to rehabilitate Mussolini, while the left decries what they see as disturbing normalisation of fascism. The 2022 film «Vallanzas» directed by Mussolini’s granddaughter, for example, sparked controversy with its sympathetic portrayal of the dictator.

The Libertà controversy echoes a broader debate about how to remember and understand the past, particularly in a country like Italy with a complex and often contentious relationship with its fascist era. While some see Mussolini as a man who made mistakes but ultimately brought stability and economic prosperity to Italy, others view him as a brutal dictator who must be condemned and remembered as such.