ITALY: The Power of Love

Last week, on the 24th anniversary of Mussolini's march on Rome, Fascist banners fluttered from Roman public buildings, pamphlets glorifying Il Duce showered on the streets of Milan and Naples, nostalgic Sicilian crowds chanted Giovinezza, the Fascist hymn. And in the nationwide municipal elections Guglielmo Giannini's Uomo Qualunque (Common Man) Party registered a spectacular 70% gain over its total vote last June, ran second (behind a Communist-Socialist coalition) in Rome, third in Naples, first in Palermo.

How much of a Fascist was Giannini? Homo's brisk leap from a weak fifth to at least a strong third among Italian parties made that...

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