Photo/Illutration The new prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, arrives for the handover ceremony at the Chigi Palace Premier’s office in Rome on Oct. 23. (AP Photo)

In his book “Fashizumu no Tanjo” (The Birth of Fascism), historian Michio Fujisawa (1933-2001) depicts a massive Fascist Party rally in Naples on Oct. 24, 1922.

Party leader Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) addressed the crowd, declaring, “Either we are allowed to govern, or we will seize power by marching on Rome.”

“To Rome,” yelled tens of thousands of his followers in unison, changing history with what came to be known as the March on Rome.

A few days later, Mussolini’s energized Blackshirt militia entered Rome, establishing the world’s first fascist regime under Mussolini’s 20-plus years of dictatorial rule.

One century later, on Oct. 22, Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister, along with her Cabinet.

The Brothers of Italy, which Meloni heads, is a nationalist right-wing populist party that carries traces of Mussolini’s politics. Though Meloni says her party is not fascist, my concerns remain.

It is difficult to determine the essence of fascism. The Italian term “fascismo” is derived from “fascio,” meaning “bundle of sticks.” But fascism cannot be simply defined as a “single-party dictatorship” or “totalitarianism.”

Author Umberto Eco (1932-2016) once warned, “There was only one Nazism, but the fascist game can be played in many forms, and the name of the game does not change.”

Every year, on the anniversary of the end of World War II in Italy, a line from director Hayao Miyazaki’s anime “Porco Rosso” is extensively quoted on social media. Spoken by the protagonist, it goes to the effect, “It is better to be a pig than a fascist.”

Porco fears reverting to his human self because he does not know what terrible things he might do.

His observation carries a special weight for people who bitterly regretted the Mussolini era and made a fresh start after World War II.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 24

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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