Is Italy Returning to Fascism?

Reason’s Zach Weissmueller and Nick Gillespie spoke with Jonah Goldberg of The Dispatch about the recent election in Italy, which saw the ascendance of the Brothers of Italy party to power as the governing majority and likely paves to way for Italy’s first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. 

The reaction has been swift and severe. Some commentators have characterized this as the return of fascism to Italy, pointing to past associations and political imagery as evidence that neo-fascists are now in charge. On the other hand, some American conservatives have said the rhetoric is over the top and that the Left is just throwing around the term fascist to discredit a political movement they don’t like. 

Goldberg published a best-seller on this very topic called Liberal Fascism in 2008 and become known as a persistent critic of the brand of right-wing populism that Trump brought into the Republican Party and which is taking hold in many places in Europe such as Italy, Hungary and Sweden.

Watch the full discussion above.