Excitement over Mussolini photos in Rome ministry Multiple weapons found: Police arrest man near Washington Capitol

Photos of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in a government building in Rome have caused a stir and outrage in Italy. The Ministry of Economic Development (Mise) had for 90 years hung pictures of all previous heads of department in its headquarters, the Palazzo Piacentini. Former minister Pierluigi Bersani complained on Twitter on Tuesday that he was pictured next to Mussolini on a wall and asked the Mise to remove his photo. According to Ansa and Adnkronos news agencies, the ministry promptly replied that Mussolini’s photo was removed to avoid controversy.

But they were really excited about it. In its statement, the Mise pointed out that a photo of Mussolini also hangs in the ancestral gallery of the heads of government in the Palazzo Chigi – the seat of the prime minister. The country’s largest trade union federation (CGIL) called the incident “serious” and “pathetic”.

Right-wing Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa, who himself has a statue of the “Duce” in his living room alongside other fascist memorabilia, lamented the criticism, asking, “Are we doing Cancel Culture now?” He recalled that there was also a picture of Mussolini in the Ministry of Defense and that the inscription “Mussolini Dux” (“Mussolini leader”) is still on an obelisk in front of the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

The subject is currently sensitive in Italy. On the one hand, next week will be the 100th anniversary of the so-called March to Rome and the seizure of power by the fascists under Mussolini on October 27, 1922. On the other hand, following the electoral victory of Giorgia Meloni and her Fratelli d’Italia party, the country is about to have a government that is more right-wing than it has been since the end of World War II. Meloni would be tasked with forming a cabinet this week and sworn in shortly after. (saw/sda/dpa)