CasaPound

CasaPound Italy CasaPound Italia
President	Gianluca Iannone
Secretary	Simone Di Stefano
Founded	26 December 2003 (2003-12-26)[1]
Headquarters	Via Napoleone III n. 8, Rome
Newspaper	Il Primato Nazionale
Youth wing	Blocco Studentesco
Membership (2017)	6,000[2][3]
Ideology	Neo-fascism[4][5] Ultranationalism[6] Hard Euroscepticism Souverainism[7][8] Anti-immigration[9] Anti-capitalism[10] Anti-Zionism[11]
Political position	Far-right[12][13][14][15]
Colors	Black      Red
Chamber of Deputies	0 / 630
Senate	0 / 315
European Parliament	0 / 73
Party flag
Website
casapounditalia.org
Politics of Italy Political parties Elections

CasaPound Italy (Italian: CasaPound Italia, CPI; "House of Pound") is a neo-fascist political party in Italy born as a political movement arising from the squatting of a state-owned building in the neighbourhood of Esquilino in Rome on 26 December 2003.

Subsequently, the phenomenon spread with other instances of squatting, demonstrations, and various initiatives, becoming a political movement.

In June 2008, CasaPound therefore constituted an "association of social promotion" and assumed the current name CasaPound Italy – CPI; the party's symbol is the "Arrowed Turtle".^[16]

History

The first illegal occupation made using the name CasaPound was on 26 December 2003 in Rome, by a group of young people referring to the ONC/OSA area (acronym for "Non-Compliant Occupations and Occupations with a Housing Purpose"), and coming from previous experience of CasaMontag at the gates of Rome. The building, a former government building in via Napoleone III, later became the national headquarters of the movement and the association. In 2010, 23 families and a total of 82 people lived in CasaPound.^[17]

Previously, CasaPound was associated with Tricolour Flame until 2008^[18] but now has its own movement, CasaPound Italy, extending all over Italy with many social centres. While CPI does not recognize the classic definitions of right and left,^[19] it is commonly placed in the view of the political groups and movements of the Italian radical right. Casapound is generally self-defined by its followers Third Position, however.^[20]

In 2011 it was estimated that CasaPound Italy had 5,000 members, while in 2017 they reached 6,000.^[21]

On 13 November 2017, Simone Di Stefano was elected secretary and Prime Minister candidate for the 2018 general election.^[22]

Ideology

One feature of this movement, according to sociologist Emanuele Toscano, is to present a different interpretation of fascism aimed at overcoming the dichotomy of right-left.^[23] The political position of CasaPound is based on the fascist Third Position, definited as "extreme-upper-centre" by the movement itself.^[24]

The name, inspired by the poet Ezra Pound, refers to his Cantos against usury, criticisms of the economic positions of both capitalism and Marxism, and his membership of the Italian Social Republic. It also gives particular attention to the Manifesto of Verona, the Labour Charter of 1927 and social legislation of fascism.^[25] There has been collaboration with the identitarian movement which propagates a white, Christian Europe.^[26] The movement also claim the legacy of far-left figures, like Che Guevara^[27] and Hugo Chávez.^[28]

On social and domestic issues, CasaPound has a strong anti-immigration rhetoric,^[29] but lack of homogeneity on other themes. In January 2016, many members of the movement participated in the Family Day, supporting the traditional family idea.^[30][31] In 2017, the establishment of CasaPound expressed support to the same-sex marriage, advance directive and improvement of the welfare state.^[32][33] The party supports abortion rights.^[34] Many activists of the movement also expressed antisemitic and xenophobic rhetoric,^[35] but CasaPound refuses both and expels members who support these ideas.^[36]

On foreign policy, CasaPound is critical of the European Union, instead supporting a communitarian-nationalist Europe.^[37][38] The Movement is both anti-American^[39][40] and anti-Zionist.^[41] The movement also started a cooperation with the Lebanese anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist Hezbollah organization.^[42]

Activities

CasaPound rally in Naples.

The social centre has its own musical band, Zetazeroalfa, an association of civil protection and promotes sports (hiking, parachuting, diving and other disciplines), union activities, and recreational activities, including a theater company, web radio, web television and a monthly magazine.

CasaPound has promoted initiatives outside the Italian territory through its non-profit organization Solidarité Identités.^[43] The activities of the movement have been the subject of attention by some foreign media.^[44][45][46]

From the period of activity of the first social centre then were organized and cultural meetings with several guests, including writer Nicolai Lilin,^[47] the LGBT deputy Paola Concia,^[48] an ex-Red Brigades Valerio Morucci,^[49] and the Chinese community.^[50]

The main CasaPound political proposal is the so-called Mutuo Sociale (Social Mortgage),^[51] as a response to the problem of housing which, according to official data, involving approximately 23,000 households throughout Italy. In October 2011, the Lazio Region officially approved it within its "House Plan".^[52]

Starting with the 2011 elections CasaPound presented their candidates in local elections in civic lists or centre-right and succeeded in electing its representatives.^[53] At regional and national elections of 2013 CasaPound Italy announced that it will present its civic lists throughout Italy.

Youth wing

Logo of Blocco Studentesco, the youth wing of CasaPound.

In 2006, the movement that arose around the first community centre was endowed with its student organization, under the name Students' Block (Italian: Blocco Studentesco).^[54] Francesco Polacchi is the General Secretary of Students' Block.

Their logo resembles that of the British Union of Fascists.

Questions have been submitted by parliamentarians of the Democratic Party about fascist propaganda and the violence of the student movement.^[55]

International meetings

Over the years the leaders of CasaPound Italy have been invited to explain its “political model” in many of the major European capitals (Paris, Madrid, London, Lisbon, Brussels)^[56] and the organization has been the subject of some reports by foreign media.^[44][45]

In 2011 the Finnish Resistance Movement also invited members of CasaPound to a seminar in Helsinki.^[57] This shows an ability of the European nationalists to organize beyond ideological differences. The Finnish Resistance Movement represents national socialism.^[58] The Finnish Security Intelligence Service researched the connections of the Finnish Resistance Movement to CasaPound after the 2011 Florence shootings.^[59]

Symbolic figures

The party's choice of American poet Ezra Pound as a symbol of the movement has caused controversy with his daughter, Mary de Rachewiltz, who claimed it distorts the meaning of Pound's work and represents a "misappropriation" of his image,^[60] despite Pound's stated support for fascism.

Electoral results

See also

• Far-right social centres
• New Force
• Neo-fascism

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CasaPound.

• CasaPound website
• English interview with the leader of Casa Pound
• Blocco Studentesco - official website