God, Family, and Country – what's wrong with that? This is the response of the Christian Right to the electoral victory of Georgia Meloni and her choice slogan. In fact it sounds a lot like what one hears with the Trumpite movement. Meloni who is all but set to be the next prime minister of Italy has certainly been making the rounds and has garnered considerable support in American Right-wing circles. Fluent in English she has been able to blend in nicely at the National Prayer Breakfast and CPAC.
In fact the Right has gone on the offensive, attacking the
media for smearing her as a fascist. They are attempting to present her as simply
a conservative Catholic woman who advocates patriotism, the West, and
pro-family policies.
If only it were that simple.
Meloni is the direct product of the Italian Social Movement
(MSI) – the post-WWII party that represented the interests and ideology of
Mussolini and was comprised of the leftovers of his regime. It was the post-war
fascist party of Italy, and Meloni was part of it. The fact that the party has
since dissolved no way means that the movement is dead. The MSI morphed into
the National Alliance (AN), and Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI) was born from
a split from Berlusconi's PdL and the AN (which had previously merged). FdI was
clearly recast in the image of the National Alliance (AN) and the legacy of the
MSI – borrowing from its core and even utilising its symbols. There is a direct
pedigree, a genetic and ideological connection going right back to the fascism
of Mussolini and even Franco in Spain.
Her Centre-Right Coalition compatriots also have fascist
connections – Salvini's League (Lega) flirts with fascism and he has some
pretty open connections with fascist groups – who also express support for him.
It's somewhat reminiscent of the way American fascism has a relationship with
Trump. The official affiliations are absent or blurry at best but there's
clearly some affection and reciprocation between the parties involved.
Silvio Berlusconi, the other member of the coalition is
Right-wing to be sure and in the early days he was connected to the P2 Lodge and
the Vatican Bank scandals. So in addition to the mafia, and the intelligence
agencies – there are also fascist connections as these all were present in the
context of that Deep State scandal. Berlusconi has been affiliated with
different Right-wing groups over the course of his career and has often worked
with and alongside fascistic elements within coalition frameworks. He has
openly praised Mussolini, though few would consider Berlusconi's Centre-Right
populism as being overtly fascist. It flirts with the notion and the ideology,
and clearly has no qualms about allying with out and out fascists.
Meloni's FdI received the most votes and as the Centre-Right
Coalition (comprised of Meloni's FdI, Salvini's Lega, and Berlusconi's Forza
Italia) now has a commanding majority – it follows that as the leading party in
the coalition, she will be the next prime minister of Italy. She will be the
first woman and the first fascist since Mussolini.
Here's the problem. For decades the Christian Right has
promoted a false narrative about fascism – that it's a Left-wing movement all
but indistinguishable from the ideals of communism and is today represented by
the Democratic Party. This is a bald faced and ridiculous lie that has been
perpetuated by a spectrum of Right-wing hacks from politicos like Jonah Goldberg,
to disingenuous Christian commentators and pseudo-intellectual academics like
Gene Veith. Fascism transcends certain aspects of American Right-wing ideology
– it has traditionally leaned more toward economic nationalism than a kind of
raw free market ideology. And yet within that capacity it has allowed for
capitalism. Fascism never had any trouble with large capitalistic monopolies.
There's been confusion over Hitler's choice of the 'socialism' label for his
Nazi Party but the evidence is all too clear – he was using the term in a
different sense, not in terms that Left-wing internationalist and
worker-oriented collectivist movements have historically used it.
An argument can be made that today's Democratic Party has many
Right-wing elements (it's pro-Wall Street and pro-Empire) and combines these notions
with ideologies such as Identity Politics – which have no historical basis in
Left wing politics but instead flow from the unique context of American
hyper-individualism, consumerist mentality, and cultural decadence. On the
international spectrum, the American Democrats are in fact a Centrist Party
with many of its members leaning toward Centre-Right policies, but it's a far
cry from the Far Right orientation of the GOP – especially under Trump. Actual
Left-wing politics have almost no place in the American spectrum.
I always laugh as American Right-wing adherents struggle to
understand or explain the bitter and mortal struggle between fascism and
communism as to most Right-leaning Americans they are the same thing – again, more
or less typified by America's Democratic Party (DNC). This would be funny if it
wasn't so sad – and now increasingly dangerous. The DNC is deplorable to be
sure, immoral and imperialist, and while its ideology may be detestable to many
on the Right – it is in fact a Capitalist party to its core and therefore
cannot be called communistic in any sense. It's a party of patronage – wanting to
throw crumbs to the workers and the poor. It wants to avoid America descending
into a nation of shanty towns and walled compounds – which is where the GOP is
leading it. But no one is arguing for nationalisation of banks, utility companies,
and natural resources – let alone the appropriation of Wall Street's wealth.
Those are socialist policies and even the handful of so-called socialists on
the fringe of the DNC, aren't even remotely arguing for anything like that.
This problem of understanding the hostility between fascism
and communism continues to elude these people. And yet it very easily explains
why conservatives and Christians came to embrace fascism in places like
Germany. It was because the movement was and is violently anti-communist.
That's why Christians were at first excited about the prospects of the
movement.
Unable to account for this, the American Right has fallen
into a historical contrivance and now ridiculously attempts to salvage their
broken paradigm by referring to Hitlerism as Right-fascism and Communism as
Left-fascism. But then both movements are cast within the spectrum of Left-wing
politics. It's completely disingenuous and ahistorical.
These discussions are further complicated by the totalitarian
overlay. Once any system Left or Right crosses that line, the day to day
realities are similar regardless of the slogans. This is true of fascism,
communism, or even life under the Imperial Papacy at the height of its power.
As such Stalinism (which repudiated several key elements of the
Marxist-Leninist framework) became a kind of dictatorial totalitarian
nationalism dressed up in Marxist garb. In one respect it 'seems' somewhat
fascistic and yet again – once the totalitarian line is crossed, the
differences don't matter too much anymore. But in terms of the actual
ideologies in play, the difference is vast. But they are differences the Right
would like to obfuscate.
The Right has attempted to divorce itself from fascism but
the record is actually quite clear. After WWII, various European fascists and
critical actors within the various Nazi-allied and affiliated parties made their
way to the United States. Washington was happy to work with them in order to
thwart the communists in their respective homelands and among the immigrant and
ecclesiastical communities in the United States. Again, these weren't Neo-Nazi
skinhead types. No, these were actual World War II-era fascists, Germans and
other European collaborators that worked with the various proxy regimes allied
with Berlin.
And to be more specific, they didn't just find a home within
the American system, they worked specifically within the confines of the
Republican Party – which contained many sympathizers. From Eisenhower to Reagan
they worked with the GOP and in other cases the various think tanks and
organisations connected to the Christian Right in order to promote their
causes. Some could integrate their views within a certain narrow reading of
American ideology. Others struggled to do so and viewed the relationship in
pragmatic terms. But because they were anti-communist and thus stood for nation
and tradition (which included traditional (if unbiblical) forms of
Christianity), the Right and more specifically the Christian Right, found these
bloodstained and evil men to be natural allies and some (such as Laszlo
Pasztor) even flourished within their political circles.
Traditionally the European Far Right has not been overly fond
of Atlanticism and yet in the context of the Cold War – it was the best they
could hope for, at least for those who wanted to work within the mainstream.
Fascism has always placed an emphasis on tradition, nationalism, and the
family. This confuses many as is all too clear with the coverage of Meloni. She
says the right things to win over the Christian Right. Indeed even New
Testament Christians believe strongly in the values of the family, a rejection
of sodomite ideology, and certainly a belief in God. But that's where the
similarities end.
For the likes of Meloni and many with the Christian Right,
the doctrine of the New Testament is syncretised with an unhappy mixture of political
ideologies and alternative commitments. The nation is viewed in sacral terms
and is thus confused with the identity of the Kingdom. Tribe and race often
(but not always) play a considerable role. History is romanticised, and the culture
is wrongly sanctified – often leading to dangerous narratives about other
peoples, immigrants, and the like. The sins of the past are justified, the
criminality and murder of Western regimes and empires are defended and
criticism is met with hostility and a threat of violence. This is a road to
militarism, revenge, and many other values expressed by the likes of Trump and
his movement which is in fact fascistic. But his followers and the larger Christian
Right do not understand this as they've been duped and deceived by their
corrupt leadership which prefers to tickle ears and in many cases has fallen
into the same corrupt patterns of thinking. Such men (like Albert Mohler among
others) are even deemed sage, profound, and filled with insight. Instead they
are revealed as blind guides, deceived deceivers, wolves leading the sheep into
peril.
Because the problem is this – they can dance around their
associations with the likes of Orban and Salvini and deny their fascistic
leanings and connections but not so with Meloni. There's no denying where she
comes from and what she is. Like any good politician she knows how to play her
audience and yet even a small amount of investigation reveals what she is. Her
fascistic background and connections are indisputable. Don't be fooled by her
blond hair and high heels – in fact the slightly-off femininity of these
Right-wing women who are being launched into leadership (as a kind of political
ploy) has become almost formulaic. It wins votes, appealing to the feminist
proclivities of modern 'conservative' women who seek to be empowered. And in
other cases they seek to cultivate a cult of male devotees.
Further her party is not only in direct alliance with
Salvini's League, but it has also forged alliances with Orban's Fidesz, the Vox
party in Spain (which represents a continuation and rebirth of Francoist
ideology), LePen's National Rally which as the Front National was founded with
direct roots to French fascism and Vichy. And now Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia
(Brothers of Italy) has also forged ties with Sweden's new Right-wing party, a
direct descendant and outgrowth of Nordic Neo-Nazism.
The Christian Right has fallen for this larger ideology and
openly allies with international fascism. Evangelicals invite fascists to speak
at their events, and then lionise them when they do. The movement has largely
succumbed to a form of homegrown fascism which at present is represented by
Trump and his movement. For many, they can't see what the problem is. And this
is because they neither know the Scriptures nor history. Once again, I blame
their false and deceitful teachers which have led them down this path.
Albert Mohler insists Christians cannot vote for Democrats.
Amen. I agree one-hundred percent. But if he cannot say the same about the
Republicans who also promote and advocate for evil policies, then he has no
moral standing. And then to endorse Trump as an alternative to the Democrats?
This is like trying to make a moral argument that vomit smells better than
dung. Do the Republicans stand for some good things? Perhaps. The same can be
said of the Democrats on certain points but that doesn't mean Christians should
vote for, support, or be involved with any of them.
As history reveals, many Church leaders were excited when
Hitler came to power. He was restoring conservative values, crushing vice,
eliminating the communists, bolstering the economy and giving the people a
reason to be proud of their nation again – for they also confused Germany and
German identity with godliness and the Kingdom.
Blinded by their divided allegiances many went down this
wayward path and only realised their error when it was too late. This was the
result of sacralist thinking – which is not specifically fascist but it can
easily coexist with it and is susceptible to its manipulations.
The Christian Right is blind and obstinate on these points
and for so long it has strengthened the hands of those that do evil, it will
not back down on this point. The Evangelical radio stations downplay or ignore
Meloni's affiliations. Other news sources attempt to spin and deflect. Of
course I immediately think of some that promote Bircher ideology and others
associated with that deceitful organisation. It's not too surprising then that
these same folks fall in with the likes of Trump, Meloni, Orban, and Bolsonaro.
In Europe, no one is fooled. They know what Meloni is and
know full well what her movement represents. They also see these movements are
on the rise all across Europe – and yes, even in Ukraine where they are
supported by NATO money and arms. In that case even American Democrats will
turn a blind eye and openly support the Azov Battalion and other such fascistic
entities and ideologically affiliated politicians.