Rachele Mussolini has been a councillor in Rome for Fratelli d’Italia since 2016 and is an active member of the party. She is the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini and sister of Italian politician, Alessandra Mussolini.
More than seven months have passed since the victory of the centre-Right and, despite the hysteria of the Left, there has not been another ‘March on Rome’, nor has the apocalypse arrived.
In these seven months, the new democratically elected centre-right government has been installed. It should be noted that in recent years governments have been formed by political agreements that did not reflect the will of the people. However, in recent months, the government has taken many steps forward, focusing political action on a long-term and structural vision in a way that is different from previous governments. This is possible because the centre-Right is a cohesive and determined coalition, and its expected duration is five years, barring unforeseen events. There is, therefore, a great desire to do well and for change to be perceived abroad as well, because Italy is a great country that deserves to be seen for what it is.
You suffered particularly from the ‘fear’ campaign, but you were the most voted-for councillor in Rome. Does your surname still carry weight, or do these campaigns affect voters less and less?
Although I suffered the effects of the fear campaign, I was the most voted for councillor in Rome, even though my family name is still a sensitive issue. When I ran for my second election campaign, I ran with the same drive and passion that I had shown in 2016, and I had a greater awareness of the challenges I would face. I was also surprised by the result I obtained, which was to become the most voted for councillor in Rome by a wide margin compared to the other candidates. However, after this great success, there were the usual criticisms about my surname, and the fact that I only got all those votes because of my parentage.
The reality is quite different. But everything has been used to attack my electoral success and consequently my political party, although I wonder, given the poor results, whether the left-wing wants to continue with this sad farce. To take my own situation as an example: in my first candidacy, I gained about 700 votes, while in my second I got no less than 8,600! It is clear that in the five years I spent in opposition, from 2016 to 2021, I did a job that was highly appreciated by the citizens of Rome.
It is curious that the Left remembers with such fervour what happened 100 years ago, but still finds it difficult to acknowledge the victims of the Foibe or of assassinations such as the Primavalle massacre that was commemorated a few weeks ago. Hypocrisy or fanaticism?
In fact, what I can see is that there is a double standard: there are first- and second-class victims. On the other hand, I would like to see national reconciliation, as a long time has passed since the events in question. I believe that this is absolutely necessary and not only for social issues; in fact, we are close to a drastic change in the global scene, and this requires, if we do not want to be overwhelmed by events, that certain divisions, which anchor Italians in the past and do not allow Italy to continue to grow, be put to an end.
Of course, those who prefer us weak encourage these kinds of fissures. The centre-Right parties have understood this well, unlike the Italian Left, which has not understood the magnitude of the problem and prefers, out of purely political interest, to raise the ghost of ‘fascism,’ thus fuelling the social fracture among Italians. It always amazes me how the Italian Left continues to resort to this argument in election campaigns, which is objectively devoid of any real criticism.
You are in your second term as a councillor in the city of Rome, currently governed by the Left. What has your experience been like over these years? What do you see as the biggest problems in the Eternal City?
I am in my second mandate, unfortunately still as an opposition councillor. Our policy, as the Capitoline group of Fratelli d’Italia, is constructive and aims to propose concrete solutions to the city’s problems. Unfortunately, for more than 10 years, the problems of the capital have always been the same: there are serious problems of refuse collection and urban decency, security problems, and an inadequate public transport service. But our proposals to improve the critical problems go unheeded, more often than not. In addition to the problems that have accumulated over the years, the mayor’s decision to block access, from 2023 onwards, to almost the entire city to vehicles defined as ‘non-green’ has been added to the list of problems. This is a very serious matter and not only affects the citizens of Rome, but also the most vulnerable part of the population. From the beginning, I have taken a strong stance against it, expressing my disagreement, both at the city hall and through the various social networks, gaining a huge number of followers.
So, unfortunately, the problems are not being solved, they are getting worse; in short, Mayor Gualtieri, the leading exponent of the Italian Left, is not doing a good job.
In many European capitals, the Left wants to impose the ‘15-minute city’ model. What do you think of this idea?
The concept of the ‘15-minute city’ is an urban planning model with controversial aspects, and conceptually it is also interesting when it tends to improve people’s quality of life. But in reality, the model that is intended to be applied to Rome seems more like a way of limiting the movement of Romans. In any case, the problem does not arise because Mayor Gualtieri, despite his promises to the electorate, has done little or nothing after two years in office with regard to the ‘15-minute city’ and, to date, it can be said that these were words with little content; in short, he was telling the citizens a dream in order to get elected.
We must remember that Rome will soon be facing important international events, such as the Jubilee. It must not be unprepared in the organisational phase, and even those of us in opposition are doing our bit, because the good of the city is the most important thing. Another very important event for the city is the possible allocation of Expo 2030 and, naturally, showing indecision in the organisational phase of the events does not benefit a candidature. I hope that the choice of Rome will be supported by all European states during the final vote of the members of the Bureau International des Expositions, which will take place in November 2023—otherwise it would be a new and very ugly show of disunity among European countries.
Going back to the ‘15-minute city’ in Rome; it simply does not exist, and is currently only present in the fervent imagination of the Democratic Party, which is trying to govern the city on the basis of slogans without realising what was promised in the election campaign, showing, once again, the loss of contact with the real situation in which the citizens of Rome find themselves.
What has changed in Italy since the election of Giorgia Meloni as prime minister?
After the election of Giorgia Meloni, there was an immediate change in Italy’s foreign policy. In fact, it should be stressed that our country had been particularly passive in the face of decisions taken in Europe, which have often gone against our economic and social reality. In this sense, I would say that a renewal of the European institutions is necessary, as they seem far removed from the real situations experienced by millions of Italians and Europeans. Of course, Italy and the Meloni government alone cannot accomplish this turnaround, but it is an important signal that can lead to a debate aimed at improving situations that are not working.
I would like to underline that the situation in the world is constantly evolving and the balance of power, understood both militarily and economically, has changed profoundly. The historical Western bloc cannot think that it still has the wide technological-economic gap that put it in such a clearly advantageous position. Many countries, unlike Italy, have adopted policies that are very much focused on national interests, so that there is now a need for a unity of purpose that is as shared as possible and that does not disproportionately disadvantage some nations to the benefit of others, as has been the case in recent years. This is still the case in Europe, but not only that, I hope that a dialogue can be established with the various representatives of the national governments to overcome certain tendencies. Therefore, the centre-right government of Giorgia Meloni aims to strengthen Italian interests, so that those who have the will to live in Italy are better off, without pursuing aggressive policies towards other European countries or towards other nations of the world. There is a possibility that in the near future we will return to ‘Cold War’-style blocs: this perspective does not seem to me the most desirable. We must seek a fair interconnection between the different nations without erasing their respective traditions and avoiding imposing debatable theories (‘gender fluid,’ ‘woke,’ ‘cancel culture,’ etc.).
And in Rome?
The impact of this renewed spirit in Rome is certainly positive and contributes to its enhancement both through renewed attractiveness and concrete governmental actions. Rome is a unique city in the world, its peculiarities are innumerable, and the centre-right government is well aware that today, to make it as efficient as possible, it is necessary to implement the Italian Constitution and make it a Roma Capitale, thus giving the Capitoline Administration more legislative possibilities. It is therefore necessary to give Rome more powers and resources to solve the problems affecting the metropolitan territory.
