A parliamentary candidate who praised Hitler as “a great statesman” won a seat in the constituency of Agrigento, southern Sicily, in the Italian election last Sunday.

Calogero Pisano had been a representative of the hard-right Fratelli d'Italia (FDI, or ‘Brothers of Italy’) - now set to lead a coalition government - until he was suspended by the party over the comment days before the poll.

The years-old Facebook post, which emerged in a story by La Repubblica newspaper, prompted uproar among Italy’s Jews. Ruth Dureghello, head of the Jewish community in Rome, wrote on Twitter: “The idea that those who praise Hitler can sit in the next Parliament is unacceptable.” 

Despite the outrage, Mr Pisano still won the seat with 37.8 per cent of the vote. 

Following his suspension, Mr Pisano put out a statement saying that: “Years ago, I wrote things that were deeply wrong and deleted my personal profile on Facebook because I was ashamed.”

Calogero Pisano

Calogero Pisano, who now holds a seat in the Italian Parliament. Credit: youtube.

In a further embarrassment for the FDI, a video went viral last Thursday showing member of the European Parliament and younger brother of the Vice President of the Italian Senate, Romano La Russa, performing a straight-armed salute at a funeral for his brother-in-law, Alberto Stabilini. 

The salute, an outstretched right arm with a flattened palm, was used in Italy under Mussolini before being adopted by Hitler’s Nazis. Some contemporary Italian nationalists have since sought to reclaim the act as patriotic. 

The video sparked calls for FDI to suspend him from the party or for Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana to otherwise reprimand him. 

Milan prosecutors have opened an “exploratory” probe into the alleged fascist salute which may be illegal under Italy’s Apology for Fascism law. However no possible charges have been posited yet, nor is Mr La Russa under any formal investigation. 

Mr La Russa claimed that the salute was not made with fascist intentions but was part of an unusual funeral ritual in which he “Roman-saluted” his fallen comrade. 

FDI defended Mr La Russa’s salute, saying “If you have seen the video, it clearly emerges that the movement of Romano La Russa’s arm has nothing to do with the fascist salute but on the contrary testifies to his invitation to those present to refrain from greeting. Just check the movement of his arm, which is absent during the consecutive calls, which the Supreme Court has however sanctioned not to be a crime if carried out at a funeral.” 

These incidents have only fuelled widespread claims that FDI is a fascist organisation at heart. 

In August the party leader, Giorgia Meloni, now poised to become Italy’s first female prime minister, insisted that FDI’s fascist beginnings in the Italian Social Movements (MSI) were no longer applicable, saying that the party had “handed fascism to history decades ago.” 

Democratic Party member and Former Minister of Southern Italy, Peppe Provenzano, said of FDI’s alleged proximity to fascism: “Deep roots never freeze.” 

Italy’s centre-right coalition led by FDI won a parliamentary absolute majority of 44 per cent on Sunday under the country’s proportional representation system and is the most right-wing government Italy has had since 1945.