Neo-Fascism on Trial

Fascism is on the ropes--again.

In last year's general election, Italy's far-right parliamentary party, the M.S.I. (Italian Social Movement), amassed 3,000,000 votes and captured 56 of the 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Based on that showing, M.S.I, could proudly describe itself as Italy's fourth largest party. Since then, party leaders have even claimed that M.S.I, has kept the centrist government of Giulio Andreotti afloat by providing a critical margin of votes in close parliamentary tests. Today, however, M.S.I, is fighting for its very existence. Its leader, Deputy Giorgio Almirante, may be stripped of parliamentary immunity and brought to trial for the crime of "reconstituting the disbanded Fascist party."

M.S.I.'s troubles started when its members' carefully nurtured public image as doppio-petti, or "double-breasted" (respectable), rightists, became fused with that of the delinquent bom-bardleri--Fascist bomb throwers. A recent wave of violence and terrorism perpetrated by the bomb throwers has so enraged many Italians that there are demands that M.S.I, be disbanded--an extraordinary step for a country that allows a wide spectrum of political activity.

The furor was provoked by two unrelated acts of violence that occurred last month. In the first, a 22-year-old neo-Fascist named Nico Azzi tried to blow up a crowded Turin-to-Rome train by planting a sizable charge of TNT in a washroom. Fortunately for the 500 passengers, the detonator Azzi was wiring exploded when the train suddenly lurched. Bleeding heavily, Azzi was placed under arrest and taken to a hospital. Police later revealed that he was a member of the extreme neo-Fascist Ordine Nuovo (New Order). Although he had no proven connection with M.S.I., Azzi had in fact tried to enroll in the party.

A second incident took place a few days later in Milan, where an assortment of M.S.I, members and other right-wingers had scheduled a political rally. When the rally was banned because of political tension in the city, the demonstrators marched toward police head quarters. They were met by squads of helmeted policemen; rocks, Molotov cocktails and tear gas began to fly, and hand bombs were tossed toward the cops. One bomb struck a young police man in the chest, killing him.

Following the policeman's death, Milan authorities launched a massive manhunt; some 60 neo-Fascist suspects were picked up and grilled. Trying desperately to exonerate the party from blame, M.S.I, leaders offered an $8,500 reward for the capture of the bomb throwers. Eventually, the party itself fingered the culprits: an unemployed la borer named Maurizio Murelli, 19, and Vittorio Loi, 22, the son of former Junior Welterweight Boxing Champion Duilio Loi. However, young Loi later told police that an M.S.I, bodyguard had assigned them to disrupt the rally.

Italy has had its share of leftist violence too. A few days after Loi's arrest, for example, arsonists set fire to the suburban Rome apartment of an M.S.I, organizer, killing two of his sons. A lettered sign left on the stairway read: PROLETARIAN JUSTICE IS DONE. Nonetheless, it is the Milan bombing, sensationalized in the newspapers as "Black Thursday," that continues to cause the most stir. The major reason is the recent boldness of the neo-Fascist bullyboys. A notorious group called the Mussolini Action Squad has set off 25 bombs in Milan since 1969; none of its members have ever been convicted. Until a recent police crackdown around Milan's San Babila Square, neo-Fascist toughs were terrorizing pedestrians and shopkeepers, and occasionally assaulting passers-by whom they thought might be leftists. Another gang, called the Executioners, mails letter bombs to antagonistic newspapers.

Brawl. In this charged atmosphere, M.S.I, members have tried to keep a low profile, quietly canceling a May Day rally. Last week tensions exploded in the Chamber of Deputies during a heated discussion of extremist agitation. Communist Parliamentary Leader Alessandro Natta attacked M.S.I, members for their "ignoble" attempt to pose as victims of a campaign linking them with rightist terrorism. "Assassin!" shouted the M.S.I, benchers. "Shut up, you assassins!" responded the Communists. Deputies from both sides then rushed toward each other, overturning tables, punching and kicking.

When the brawl ended, Natta calmly resumed his speech. "For the over whelming majority of Italians," he said, "you are the Fascist party at the center of reactionary and ruinous intrigue."

He was roundly applauded by the Deputies -- an ominous signal that the M.S.I, has been effectively isolated in the Chamber.

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