Pino Rauti
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Umberto "Pino" Rauti (born November 19, 1926 in Cardinale, Calabria
) is an Italian
politician who has been a leading figure on the far right
for many years. Involved in active politics since 1948, he is the founder and current leader of the Social Idea Movement
.
before briefly going into exile with the Spanish Foreign Legion. Rauti returned to Italy in 1946 and joined the Italian Social Movement
(MSI) two years later. He became a leading member of the party and also joined the New European Order
initiative. He became associated with Julius Evola
and, along with Enzo Erra, served as editor of his journal Imperium. Such was Rauti's support for Evola's philosophy that his own theoretical writings demonstrated so much of his mentor's influences as to be at times plagiarism.
In 1954 he established his own group within the MSI based around the Imperium group, the Ordine Nuovo
. However Rauti became disillusioned with the MSI, particularly after the party supported the presidency bid of Giovanni Gronchi
and the premiership of Giuseppe Pella
, and so his group split off at the 1956 party conference, with Rauti launching a tirade of abuse at the MSI leadership as he left.
'. A noted anti-communist, Rauti sought to use a twin-track approach against the communists
, with both strands calling for violent action. He supported the old tactic of direct street fights with far left militia groups but also endorsed a process of infiltrating these groups and thus provoking them to more action and more direct confrontation with law enforcement. Rauti hoped that his policy would create an atmosphere of civil unrest that he hoped would be more conducive to a neo-fascist takeover.
Rauti's name cropped up in the inquiry into the Piazza Fontana bombing
whilst he had also been named as having attended high-level terrorism planning meetings in Padua
in 1969. The Treviso
magistrates brought Rauti to trial in 1972 over possible involvement in the Piazza Fontana attack but ultimately he was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Rauti was aided in this by being able to provide an alibi for the Padua meeting.
Rauti was known to be close to Mario Merlino and by extension was linked to Merlino's close comrade Stefano Delle Chiaie
. He also collaborated with former Ordine Nuovo member Franco Freda
, producing a series of pamphlets with him in the 1960s. Some documents have also claimed that Rauti was either a 'contact' or a paid informer for the head of the Servizio Informazioni Difesa, who was himself linked to the strategy of tension. It has also been suggested that he was responsible for setting up the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari
along with Guido Giannettini
. However there was never any concrete evidence to link Rauti to terrorism and he was never convicted of any offences.
. Rauti's move was condemned by Clemente Graziani, who continued to lead a rump Ordine Nuovo outside the MSI although the two men actually remained close associates. Meanwhile Rauti was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
in 1972.
Rauti's position within the MSI was strengthened in 1977 when the main moderate faction broke away to form a new party, National Democracy
. This opened space for a new Evola-based movement to gain power within the party under Rauti and he placed his emphasis on youth by organising Camp Hobbit, a series of events for young party members that were noted for having a much more casual and fun-oriented vibe than previous party youth initiatives. The event was such a success that afterwards the MSI youth movement, the Fronte della Gioventu, threw their lot in with Rauti's faction. Meanwhile his influence continued to grow when he became a leading figure in the European Parliament
during the 1980s.
In 1987 Rauti, by then deputy-secretary of the MSI, was one of two candidates seeking to succeed Giorgio Almirante
as leader of the MSI, the other being Gianfranco Fini
. Continuing to present a policy platform based on the ideas of Evola, Rauti also demonstrated elements of Nouvelle Droite
thinking, having been converted to ethnopluralism
and support for nationalism
in the developing world. Fini however, presenting a more moderate platform, secured the leadership by taking 727 votes to Rauti's 608.
and the Front National in France and, seeking to utilise the template they had established, sought to make opposition to immigration
the central policy of the MSI. The move provoked alarm as it seemed that Fini was seeking to abandon fascism altogether and instead turn the MSI to populism
. This radical departure, combined with some poor electoral showings, led to Rauti replacing Fini as leader in 1990.
As leader Rauti sought to underline the party's fascism as being a radical revolutionary creed that, he argued, should not be considered right-wing. He also underlined his opposition to the USA and Western values as well as his support for ethnopluralism. However the 3.9% of the vote captured at the 1990 regional elections represented the worst return in MSI history and a further slump in support in local elections in Sicily
saw him removed from the leadership in July 1991 and replaced by Fini.
. Seeing this a break from the fascist heritage which he felt was central to the MSI, Rauti led a group of militants to break away and form the Fiamma Tricolore
, which he saw as continuing the path of fascism. Although commentators had expected the party to be a fringe movement it polled surprisingly well in the 1996 election
and even managed to capture a seat in the European Parliament in the 1999 election
.
, who immediately adopted a policy of seeking to work with Silvio Berlusconi
's House of Freedoms
coalition. Rauti became a strong critic of the direction taken by Romagnoli leading to him being expelled from the party he had founded in early 2004.
He established his own party, the Social Idea Movement
, of which he remains leader as of 2009.
-based daily Il Tempo
in 1953. He would also act as one of the Italian correspondents for the Aginter Press
.
His daughter Isabella is married to Gianni Alemanno who assumed office as Mayor of Rome in April 2008.
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
) is an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politician who has been a leading figure on the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
for many years. Involved in active politics since 1948, he is the founder and current leader of the Social Idea Movement
Social Idea Movement
Social Idea Movement is an Italian neo-fascist political party.It was founded in 2004 by a split of the Tricolour Flame party...
.
Early years
As a youth Rauti volunteered for the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana of the Italian Social RepublicItalian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
before briefly going into exile with the Spanish Foreign Legion. Rauti returned to Italy in 1946 and joined the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(MSI) two years later. He became a leading member of the party and also joined the New European Order
New European Order
The New European Order was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism. It was a more radical splinter-group of the European Social Movement....
initiative. He became associated with Julius Evola
Julius Evola
Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola also known as Julius Evola, was an Italian philosopher and esotericist...
and, along with Enzo Erra, served as editor of his journal Imperium. Such was Rauti's support for Evola's philosophy that his own theoretical writings demonstrated so much of his mentor's influences as to be at times plagiarism.
In 1954 he established his own group within the MSI based around the Imperium group, the Ordine Nuovo
Ordine Nuovo
Ordine Nuovo , full name Centro Studi Ordine Nuovo, "New Order Scholarship Center") was an Italian far right cultural and extra-parliamentary political and terrorist organization founded by Pino Rauti in 1956...
. However Rauti became disillusioned with the MSI, particularly after the party supported the presidency bid of Giovanni Gronchi
Giovanni Gronchi
Giovanni Gronchi was a Christian Democratic Italian politician who became the third President of the Italian Republic in 1955, after Luigi Einaudi...
and the premiership of Giuseppe Pella
Giuseppe Pella
Giuseppe Pella was an Italian Christian Democratic politician who served as the 32nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1953 to 1954. He was also President of the European Parliament from 1954 to 1956 after the death of Alcide De Gasperi.He was born in Valdengo, Piedmont...
, and so his group split off at the 1956 party conference, with Rauti launching a tirade of abuse at the MSI leadership as he left.
Terrorism allegations
Alongside his political career Rauti was also the subject of a series of allegations linking him to the terror campaigns associated with the 'strategy of tensionStrategy of tension
The strategy of tension is a theory that describes how to divide, manipulate, and control public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, and false flag terrorist actions....
'. A noted anti-communist, Rauti sought to use a twin-track approach against the communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, with both strands calling for violent action. He supported the old tactic of direct street fights with far left militia groups but also endorsed a process of infiltrating these groups and thus provoking them to more action and more direct confrontation with law enforcement. Rauti hoped that his policy would create an atmosphere of civil unrest that he hoped would be more conducive to a neo-fascist takeover.
Rauti's name cropped up in the inquiry into the Piazza Fontana bombing
Piazza Fontana bombing
The Piazza Fontana Bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on December 12, 1969 at 16:37, when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana in Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and wounding 88...
whilst he had also been named as having attended high-level terrorism planning meetings in Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
in 1969. The Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
magistrates brought Rauti to trial in 1972 over possible involvement in the Piazza Fontana attack but ultimately he was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. Rauti was aided in this by being able to provide an alibi for the Padua meeting.
Rauti was known to be close to Mario Merlino and by extension was linked to Merlino's close comrade Stefano Delle Chiaie
Stefano Delle Chiaie
Stefano Delle Chiaie is a neofascist Italian activist . He went on to become a wanted man worldwide, suspect to be involved in Italy's strategy of tension, but was acquitted. He was a friend of Licio Gelli, grandmaster of P2 masonic lodge...
. He also collaborated with former Ordine Nuovo member Franco Freda
Franco Freda
Franco "Giorgio" Freda is one of the leading intellectuals of the post-war Italian far right. He has been accused of having personally contributed to the Piazza Fontana bombing.-Biography:...
, producing a series of pamphlets with him in the 1960s. Some documents have also claimed that Rauti was either a 'contact' or a paid informer for the head of the Servizio Informazioni Difesa, who was himself linked to the strategy of tension. It has also been suggested that he was responsible for setting up the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari
Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari
The Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari was an Italian neofascist terrorist organization active from 1977 to November 1981. It committed 33 murders in four years, and had planned to assassinate Francesco Cossiga, Gianfranco Fini and Adolfo Urso...
along with Guido Giannettini
Guido Giannettini
- Activism :He was active in the OAS support networks, and arrested in 1961 in Madrid along with Pierre Lagaillarde.Giannettini participated to the newspapers Il Roma and Il Secolo d'Italia, as well as to L'Italiano, headed by Pino Romualdi...
. However there was never any concrete evidence to link Rauti to terrorism and he was never convicted of any offences.
Return to the MSI
Rauti returned to the MSI in 1969 and was given a seat on the Central Committee by Giorgio AlmiranteGiorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante was an Italian politician, the founder and leader of the Italian Social Movement until his retirement in 1987.-Early life:...
. Rauti's move was condemned by Clemente Graziani, who continued to lead a rump Ordine Nuovo outside the MSI although the two men actually remained close associates. Meanwhile Rauti was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
in 1972.
Rauti's position within the MSI was strengthened in 1977 when the main moderate faction broke away to form a new party, National Democracy
National Democracy (Italy)
The National Democracy party was a spin-off of Movimento Sociale Italiano, after the electoral defeat of 1976. It was born to pursue an agreement with the Democrazia Cristiana party, by moving from the neo-fascist ideology of the Movimento Sociale Italiano to a post-fascist moderate ideology.The...
. This opened space for a new Evola-based movement to gain power within the party under Rauti and he placed his emphasis on youth by organising Camp Hobbit, a series of events for young party members that were noted for having a much more casual and fun-oriented vibe than previous party youth initiatives. The event was such a success that afterwards the MSI youth movement, the Fronte della Gioventu, threw their lot in with Rauti's faction. Meanwhile his influence continued to grow when he became a leading figure in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
during the 1980s.
In 1987 Rauti, by then deputy-secretary of the MSI, was one of two candidates seeking to succeed Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante was an Italian politician, the founder and leader of the Italian Social Movement until his retirement in 1987.-Early life:...
as leader of the MSI, the other being Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini is an Italian politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, leader of the center-right Future and Freedom party, and the former leader of the conservative National Alliance and the post-fascist Italian Social Movement...
. Continuing to present a policy platform based on the ideas of Evola, Rauti also demonstrated elements of Nouvelle Droite
Nouvelle Droite
Nouvelle Droite is a school of political thought founded largely on the works of Alain de Benoist and GRECE .-Etymology and history:...
thinking, having been converted to ethnopluralism
Ethnopluralism
Ethnopluralism or ethno-pluralism is a European New Right theory of multiculturalism which contrasts with liberal multiculturalism."Cultural differentialism" is the view that cultures are clearly bound entities with a specific geographical location...
and support for nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in the developing world. Fini however, presenting a more moderate platform, secured the leadership by taking 727 votes to Rauti's 608.
Leadership of MSI
Despite his defeat Rauti's position within the party was soon strengthened. Fini looked to the success of Jean-Marie Le PenJean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
and the Front National in France and, seeking to utilise the template they had established, sought to make opposition to immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
the central policy of the MSI. The move provoked alarm as it seemed that Fini was seeking to abandon fascism altogether and instead turn the MSI to populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
. This radical departure, combined with some poor electoral showings, led to Rauti replacing Fini as leader in 1990.
As leader Rauti sought to underline the party's fascism as being a radical revolutionary creed that, he argued, should not be considered right-wing. He also underlined his opposition to the USA and Western values as well as his support for ethnopluralism. However the 3.9% of the vote captured at the 1990 regional elections represented the worst return in MSI history and a further slump in support in local elections in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
saw him removed from the leadership in July 1991 and replaced by Fini.
Fiamma Tricolore
Rauti remained a hard-line critic of Fini's leadership until 1995 when Fini declared the dissolution of the MSI and the foundation, in its place, of the Alleanza NazionaleNational Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance was a conservative political party in Italy.Gianfranco Fini was the leader of the party since its foundation in 1995, however he stepped down in 2008 after being elected to the nominally non-partisan post of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and was succeeded by...
. Seeing this a break from the fascist heritage which he felt was central to the MSI, Rauti led a group of militants to break away and form the Fiamma Tricolore
Fiamma Tricolore
The Tricolour Flame Social Movement , normally just Tricolour Flame, is a neo-fascist Italian political party.-History:...
, which he saw as continuing the path of fascism. Although commentators had expected the party to be a fringe movement it polled surprisingly well in the 1996 election
Italian general election, 1996
An early national general election was held in Italy on 21 April, 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic...
and even managed to capture a seat in the European Parliament in the 1999 election
European Parliament election, 1999 (Italy)
The European Parliament election of 1999 in Italy was the election of the delegation from Italy to the European Parliament in 1999.-References:...
.
Retirement and comeback
Rauti stood down as leader in 2002 in favour of Luca RomagnoliLuca Romagnoli
Luca Romagnoli is an Italian politician and former Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy with the neo-fascist party Fiamma Tricolore, being a Non-Inscrit in the European Parliament.He sat on its Committee on Transport and Tourism, and was a substitute for the Committee on...
, who immediately adopted a policy of seeking to work with Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
's House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
coalition. Rauti became a strong critic of the direction taken by Romagnoli leading to him being expelled from the party he had founded in early 2004.
He established his own party, the Social Idea Movement
Social Idea Movement
Social Idea Movement is an Italian neo-fascist political party.It was founded in 2004 by a split of the Tricolour Flame party...
, of which he remains leader as of 2009.
Outside politics
As well as politics Rauti was also a noted journalist, joining the staff of the RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
-based daily Il Tempo
Il Tempo
Il Tempo is a daily Italian newspaper. It was founded in Rome, Italy by Renato Angiolillo in 1944 and currently publishes the Rome edition and other five local editions ....
in 1953. He would also act as one of the Italian correspondents for the Aginter Press
Aginter Press
Aginter Press, also known under the name Central Order and Tradition , was a pseudo press agency set up in Lisbon, Portugal in September 1966, under Oliveira Salazar's dictatorship...
.
His daughter Isabella is married to Gianni Alemanno who assumed office as Mayor of Rome in April 2008.