'CBS Mornings' critiques new Italian prime minister-elect's allegedly fascist ties
'CBS Mornings' explores Italian prime minister-elect Giorgia Meloni's allegedly fascist ties.
"CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dukoupil said presumptive Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni rejected the label of fascism while embracing some of its symbols on Monday.
"[She] rejects the label but not all of the slogans," Dukoupil said after a package dedicated to Meloni's "far-right" political ideology.
According to the segment, Meloni rejected accusations that she is a fascist, yet keeps elements of fascism in her political language and symbolism, including the slogan "God, fatherland and family" and a party flag which bears the same flame symbol as that of infamous Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's tomb.
The segment also criticized Meloni for being a member of the "far-right" Brothers of Italy party and highlighted one of its members – Rachele Mussolini, granddaughter of the fascist leader.
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Leader of Brothers of Italy Giorgia Meloni reacts at the party's election night headquarters, in Rome, Italy September 26, 2022. (REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane)
Mussolini told CBS correspondent Chris Livesay her name has been both an obstacle and a "springboard" for her political career within the party.
The segment continued to draw parallels between Meloni and the former dictator, noting he assumed power exactly 100 years before Meloni and, in an article published Monday, discussed the "stunning victory" in the context of Italy's "disastrous history of the last time a hard-right party rose to power."
"If there's no connection to fascism, then why wouldn't they change their symbol?" Livesay asked one of the party's supporters at a weekend rally.
He continued to reject the presence of fascistic ties within the party by saying "no."
Giorgia Meloni arrives in her car to attend a political rally in Rome, Italy January 23, 2018. (REUTERS/Remo Casilli)
The segment also questioned Holocaust survivor and poet Edith Bruck, who said she is "very much" worried about Meloni's rise to power.
"I think that she is fascist," she said.
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Monday's segment also hinted at Meloni's potential to attack same-sex unions in Italy due to her own traditionalist views, citing her opposition to adoption and surrogacy for same-sex couples.
"She's trying to delete us and send a message that we are the reason why Italy doesn’t have enough children. We’re the reason why we have demographic problems. We’re the reason why the family is not holding strong. And we are scared," said Alessandro Valera who shares a daughter with his husband.
Livesay also captured Brothers of Italy party members' opposition to illegal immigration and same-sex marriages while interviewing rally attendees over the weekend.
"The problem in Italy is becoming the illegal immigration. Too many immigrants," one supporter said told Livesay
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Meloni is not only set to become Italy's first female prime minister in history, but to also spearhead the country's most conservative government in decades.