Far-right and criminal: the family album of black terrorism in Gianluca Barbera's book

Ramelli 's murder is pure horror, and shows us the aberration to which ideology can descend. Yet, despite everything, red extremism and black extremism during the Years of Lead are not comparable, and not only because the former—despite committing atrocities—never committed indiscriminate massacres of civilians. A beautiful, well-researched, and meticulous book by Gianluca Barbera , Destra estrema e destra criminale (Newton Compton), helps us understand this. But let's start from the beginning.

Perhaps the expression "state massacre," as a famous investigative book published in 1970 by Samonà and Savelli was titled, was too generalizing (in reality, the massacres in our country were covered up by some state apparatuses). Yet the other, inextricably linked, expression, " strategy of tension," appeared in early December 1969 in the Observer and the Guardian, not in some far-left pamphlet. It described a strategy aimed at isolating the PCI in a situation of intense social conflict by exploiting fear (the split in Saragat 's PSDI the previous year had been moving in that same direction). The two English newspapers appeared certain that a coup d'état was being planned in Italy with the support of neo-fascists and sectors of the military. Barbera's book takes its cue from the bomb—16 kilos of TNT, 17 dead and dozens injured—that exploded on December 12, 1969, in a branch of the Banca dell'Agricoltura in Milan.

It was the "first link in a chain of blood whose aim was to undermine the credibility of the State" , destabilize the country and " foster an authoritarian turn through the proclamation of a state of emergency". The judiciary was not always able to identify and punish those responsible for that massacre, and others that followed. Even though the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry ( Gualtieri-Pellegrino ) explained the reasons in detail – within the Cold War – investigating the black subversive phenomenon that unfolded in Italy – the only European country! – from 1969 onwards. The concept of a "parallel state " was fundamental, a hidden body that touched on institutional apparatuses and favored collusion with neo-fascist terrorists (hired by the secret services) against a common enemy. The Air Force Chief of Staff then revealed that " for us in the armed forces, a third of Parliament was the enemy" . In light of this frightening statement, the clandestine organizations (stay-behind) and paramilitary structures (Gladio) created by the US in the 1950s to counter the Soviet Union can be explained. Even a mere electoral victory for the PCI would have prompted an intervention. This was Barbera's first major achievement.

At the end of the book, Barbera offers a chilling but historically significant count of the victims—between 1969 and 1982. Just one figure. The number of deaths and injuries in attacks: 169 caused by left-wing groups, 758 caused by right-wing groups. If we then scroll through the index, we retrace the long trail of bloodshed during that period, namely the dense sequence of attacks, massacres, murders, and attempted coups attributable to the far right: from the Borghese coup to Licio Gelli , from Peteano to Piazza della Loggia in Brescia , from the Italicus to Bologna station . Behind the scenes, Ordine Nuovo and Avanguardia Nazionale, and then the many small groups that arose from the disintegration of these two organizations. Wherever there was a political battle to expand democracy and expand rights (civil and workers' rights), one always found neo-fascists there, barring the way and planting bombs! As if the actual massacres weren't enough, there were countless failed fascist massacres. Just one example.

I was shocked—I live in Rome's Testaccio neighborhood—to learn of an attack on the Testaccio branch of the Italian Socialist Party , planned by the NAR (National Socialist Revolt). In this case, the device, placed on the windowsill of a room where a crowded meeting was being held, failed to explode because the gunpowder had become damp. Had the bomb exploded, it would have left an indelible wound in the heart of the capital's working-class population. Far-right groups aren't so much emphasizing "epic" or spectacular violence, which even touched the security services of left-wing groups, as cult-like violence itself, even as a moment of individual growth, directed at its own members: at CasaPound rallies, the practice of cinghiamattanza was prevalent, that is, deadly beatings against everyone, because blood and pain strengthen. After a biographical review of the key figures of black extremism, their misdeeds, and their often turbulent fates—some are still alive and remain icons for new generations (like Freda)—there follows a few pages on the not-so-accidental ties between Giorgia Meloni and that political movement. On this point, Fanpage 's celebrated investigation revealed an embarrassing and incontrovertible truth. Now, I don't intend to pin anyone down to their past, nor to insinuate collusion between the current right-wing government and the criminal right.

But as Benedetta Tobagi , daughter of the journalist assassinated in 1989 by a Red terrorist, said, " Fratelli d'Italia doesn't want to deal with the family album of black terrorism." And that's a shame! If right-wing exponents—and precisely those who come from that area—were to critically, seriously, and even painfully investigate their roots, it would be a valuable contribution to democracy. It's strange how the self-critical memoirs of former communists are always extremely interesting (from Koestler to Silone ), while those of former fascists, although much rarer, are always reticent and of little importance. Perhaps because in the communist tradition there is always an unavoidable moment of confrontation with the truth ( Marx sought a truth of things, of History itself), while in Italian fascism—beyond all the rhetoric about honor—ambiguity and opportunism have almost always prevailed.

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Philip La Porta