Elon Musk to be among guest stars at the Brothers of Italy annual convention

The post-fascist world that has long been nourishing the birth of far-right parties such as Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, is to hold its annual convention in Rome that doubles as an exotic cultural crossroads this weekend. On the one hand, footage will be shown of the youth of the now defunct Italian Social Movement (MSI) admiring the great fascist icons of their era, such as Pino Rauti. On the other, their political successors from the National Alliance and the Brothers of Italy will have fun with the literature of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and Michael Ende.

From Tolkein, they have borrowed the idea of organizing Hobbit camps; from Ende, the event title Atreju, the protagonist of his fantasy novel, The NeverEnding Story.

This year, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has Tesla boss and social network X’s Elon Musk, as the star guest. A global hero for populists, the far right and conspiracy theorists, in Italy he is adored by everyone from Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s far-right Northern League, to the entire anti-vaccine contingent. The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who will be in Rome on Saturday, December 16, will also meet Meloni, though his presence at the event, which began in 1998, has not yet been confirmed.

Naming the event Atreju is explained on the Brothers of Italy website. “He represents the example of a young person engaged in a daily struggle against the forces of nothingness, against an enemy that destroys the fantasy of youth, consumes their energy, strips them of values and ideals, to the point of turning their existence into a plain [or featureless landscape].” Under this premise, Atreju is used as a launch pad for debate attended by politicians of all ideological stripes. Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement, former Italian prime ministers Matteo Renzi and Silvio Berlusconi and former U.S. president Donald Trump’s advisor Steve Bannon have all been here. The range of guests also includes some on the left of the political spectrum, though this year the invitation extended to the far-right Vox leader, Santiago Abascal, as guest of honor at the closing event has prompted some to pull out.

Brothers of Italy are popular in the Rome region and often hold meetings and celebrations in its neighborhoods and small municipalities. The presence of Abascal at the event, to be held in the Roman gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo, was announced just as his highly controversial statements about Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, were uttered in Argentina. The Vox leader predicted that the day would come when Spanish citizens would hang Sánchez by his feet. Condemned as incitement to violence, his prediction was in reference to the death of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on April 28, 1945, who was hung upside down in Loreto Square in Milan the following day. Even Brothers of Italy militants were shocked, with some asking for his invitation to be withdrawn. But Meloni holds the Vox leader in high esteem and Abascal will continue to participate in the closing of the convention on Sunday, December 17, an event which will also serve to launch his campaign for the June European elections.

Giovanni Donzelli, who is in charge of the convention and responsible for the Brothers of Italy’s youth wing, explained: “We do not interfere in the internal politics of other countries. That means having good institutional relations. Italy and Spain are collaborating nations, each one with its own internal politics. Santiago Abascal is an important conservative representative, with whom we are going to discuss European affairs, not Spanish internal affairs,” he added. It is the second time that Meloni has behaved protectively toward Abascal in less than a month. The last incident occurred while Pedro Sánchez was being sworn in as Prime Minister and the Vox leader declared it a coup d’état. That same day he was received by Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

But not everyone was prepared to turn a blind eye to Abascal’s hate campaign against Sánchez. The co-spokesman of the Greens and deputy of the Greens and Left Alliance, Angelo Bonelli, withdrew from the event. “I consider it absolutely inadmissible and indecent and, therefore, I declare that I will decline the invitation to participate in the debate on Friday.” Meanwhile, the leader of the Democratic Party and head of the opposition in Italy, Elly Schlein, explicitly asked Meloni to distance herself from Abascal on account of his hate speech towards the Spanish Prime Minister.

Elon Musk’s case is somewhat different, arousing only enthusiasm and selfie fervor. The tycoon is nowadays the darling of almost all those on the ultra-right who seek media and economic backing, and a cutting edge image. But his presence also represents a gift for investors and entrepreneurs. Musk has an excellent relationship with Meloni — they met in Rome last June — and has agreed to roll up to the convention on Saturday, December 16, when he will be interviewed by journalist Nicola Porro, who is hosting the event.

Musk will be accompanied by guests such as Luciano Fontana, director of the news site Corriere della Sera; the businessman Flavio Briatore; the mayor of Rome, socialist Roberto Gualtieri, and the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama. Despite being leader of Albania’s Socialist Party, Rama maintains an excellent relationship with Meloni and has recently signed an agreement with Italy to house internment centers on Albanian territory for migrants rescued off the Italian coast. It is a project that would allow the deportation of migrants to their countries of origin, but the legality of it is dubious and Brussels is against it. “I am a socialist, but also an old friend of Italy and I feel very close to Giorgia Meloni,” said Rama. So much so, that last summer the two spent vacation time together in Albania.

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