CasaPound CasaPound Italia – CPI | |
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| Abbreviation | CPI |
| President | Gianluca Iannone |
| Founded | 26 December 2003; 22 years ago (2003-12-26) |
| Split from | Tricolour Flame |
| Youth wing | Students' Block |
| Membership(2017) | 6,000 |
| Ideology | Neo-fascism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| International affiliation | Nation Europa (since 2024) |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
www | |
CasaPound Italia (CPI; "House of[Ezra] Pound"), officiallyCasaPound Italia – CPI, is an Italianneo-fascist movement. It was formerly a political party, born as a network of far-rightsocial centres arising from the occupation of a state-owned building bysquatters in the neighborhood ofEsquilino inRome on 26 December 2003. Subsequently, CasaPound spread with other instances of squatting, demonstrations and various initiatives, becoming apolitical movement. In June 2008, CasaPound established its own association. In June 2019, CasaPound announced that it no longer was a political party and promoted itself as asocial movement.
The first occupation made using the name CasaPound was in Rome on 26 December 2003.[1] It was done by a group of young people referring to the ONC/OSA area (an acronym for Occupazioni Non Conformi and Occupazioni a Scopo Abitativo, meaning "Non-Compliant Occupations and Occupations with a Housing Purpose"), and came from previous experience of CasaMontag (named afterGuy Montag) at the gates of Rome. The building, a state-owned building via Napoleone III, was later used as the national headquarters of the movement and the association. By 2010, 23 families and a total of 82 people were living in CasaPound-occupied building.[2]
In June 2008, CasaPound constituted an "association of social promotion"; the party's symbol is the "Arrowed Turtle".[3] Previously, CasaPound was associated withTricolour Flame until 2008,[4] before it created 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,[5] it is commonly placed in the category of the political groups and movements of the Italianradical right. CasaPound is generally self-defined by its followers asThird Position.[6]
In 2011, it was estimated that CasaPound Italy had 5,000 members, while in 2017 they reached 6,000.[7][8] Starting with the2011 Italian local elections, CasaPound presented its candidates in local elections incivic lists orcentre-right coalition and succeeded in electing representatives.[9] At the 2013 Italian regional and general elections, CasaPound Italy announced that it would present its civic lists throughout Italy, and made inroads by 2017.[10] On 13 November 2017, Simone Di Stefano was elected secretary and nominal prime ministerial candidate for the2018 Italian general election,[11] although the party subsequently formally stated that it hoped thatLeague leaderMatteo Salvini would become the prime minister.[12]
To participate in the2019 European Parliament election in Italy, an electoral joint list was formed by CasaPound together withUnited Right.[13] Di Stefano topped the coalition's list butthe coalition was unable to win any seats in theEuropean Parliament.[14] On 26 June 2019, CasaPound's president Gianluca Iannone announced that CasaPound's existence as a political party had ended, going back to its original status as a social movement.[15] During the2022 Italian general election, CasaPound supportedItalexit, which had a candidate list that included CasaPound members.[16][17]
CasaPound is described as neo-fascist,[18][19] and thus asfar-right,[20][21][22] representing extremistItalian nationalism,[23]hard Euroscepticism,[24] andsouverainism.[25][26] It claims opposition to capitalism,[27] and also supportslaicism.[28][29] According to sociologist Emanuele Toscano, one feature of this movement is to present a different interpretation offascism aimed at overcoming the dichotomy ofleft–right political spectrum.[30] The political position of CasaPound is based on the fascist Third Position, defined as "extreme-upper-centre" by the movement itself.[31]
The name, inspired by the American poetEzra Pound, refers to hisCantos againstusury, criticisms of the economic positions of both capitalism andMarxism, and his cooperation (Ezra Pound's radio broadcasts, 1941–1945) with theItalian Social Republic. It also gives particular attention to theManifest of Verona, theLabour Charter of 1927 and the social legislation ofItalian fascism.[32] There has been collaboration with theidentitarian movement, which propagates a white Christian Europe.[33] The movement also praises the legacy of left-wing figures, such asHugo Chávez andChe Guevara.[34][35]
On social and domestic issues, CasaPound has a stronganti-immigration stance;[36] it lacks homogeneity on other themes. In January 2016, many members of the movement participated inFamily Day, supporting thetraditional family idea.[37] In 2017, the establishment of CasaPound expressed support for same-sexcivil unions,[38]advance directives, and improvement of thewelfare state.[39][40] The party supportsabortion-rights.[41] Some activists of the movement expressedantisemitic andxenophobic rhetoric online;[42] CasaPound claims to refuse and expel members who support these ideas.[43]
On foreign policy, CasaPound is critical of theEuropean Union, instead supporting a communitarian-nationalist Europe.[44][45] The movement was originallyanti-American,[46][47] as well asanti-Zionist,[48] and started a cooperation with the Lebaneseanti-imperialist, anti-Zionist, and ShiaIslamist partyHezbollah in 2015;[49] however, Di Stefano later said: "We do not have problems with Israel."[50] In 2018, Di Stefano defended Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu's policies regarding the repatriation of illegal immigrants to Africa as "undoubtedly excellent", and criticised humanitarian organisations and theUnited Nations for intervening to prevent them.[51] After the end of Di Stefano's leadership, CasaPound reverted to a strongly pro-Palestine stance in theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict.[52][53]
Di Stefano expressed support for U.S. presidentDonald Trump but requested that he close U.S. military bases in Italy.[54] Although Di Stefano maintained outspoken support for Russian presidentVladimir Putin, CasaPound under his leadership always took a pro-Ukraine stance, being closely linked with the far-right nationalist organisationRight Sector, with members fighting among the ranks of theAzov Battalion andMisanthropic Division.[55] This positioned the organisation as opposed to its neo-fascist rivalNew Force (a former Italian ally of theultranationalist partySvoboda), which since 2014 took a pro-Russian stance in theRusso-Ukrainian war and sent fighters to Donbas.[56] According to the Italian edition of theHuffPost, members of CasaPound went to fight in Ukraine, among them Francesco Saverio Fontana, who enlisted in the Azov Battalion.[57]
The social centre has its musical band (Zetazeroalfa), an association ofcivil 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 organisation Solidarité Identités.[58] The activities of the movement have been the subject of attention by some foreign media.[59][60]
From the period of activity of the first social centre then were organized and cultural meetings with several guests, including writerNicolai Lilin,[61] theLGBT deputyPaola Concia,[62] ex-Red Brigades memberValerio Morucci,[63] and the Chinese community.[64] The main CasaPound political proposal is the Social Mortgage (Mutuo Sociale),[65] as a response to the problem of housing that according to official data involving approximately 23,000 households throughout Italy. In October 2011, theLazio region led byRenata Polverini ofThe People of Freedom (PdL) officially approved it within its "House Plan" (Piano Casa).[66]
CasaPounds student organisation Blocco Studentesco (Students' Bloc) was founded in 2006. Aside from being a place for interested people to find others with similar political views it also takes part in student elections. In 2009, it successfully entered the student parliaments with 100 representatives.[67] Its logo is based on the flag of theBritish Union of Fascists founded byOswald Mosley in the 1930s.[68]
Blocco Studentesco's main forms of action are demonstrations and parades.[69] Events such as flash mobs, hard bass, and happenings are also organized and used for content production on social media.[70] Some of the direct actions Blocco Studentesco takes part in are violent. In 2008, there was a fight between the student organisation and left-wing students in Piazza Navona in Rome.[71]
In April 2010, questions were submitted by parliamentarians of theDemocratic Party (PD) about fascist propaganda and the violence of the student movement.[72] In October 2023, Blocco Studentesco protested an event in Rome attended by theLikud, theRepublican Party, theNational Rally,Fidesz, andAlternative for Germany, calling for the liberation of Palestine, theGolan Heights and theRepublic of Artsakh, and condemning the parties in attendance as "pro-Russian and anti-European".[73]
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, andWarsaw),[74] and the organisation has been the subject of some reports by foreign media.[59] In 2011, theFinnish Resistance Movement also invited members of CasaPound to a seminar inHelsinki.[75] The Finnish Resistance Movement representsneo-Nazism.[76] TheFinnish Security Intelligence Service researched the connections of the Finnish Resistance Movement to CasaPound after the2011 Florence shootings.[77]
The party's choice of Pound as a symbol of the movement caused controversy with his daughterMary de Rachewiltz who claimed, despite Pound's stated support for fascism, that it distorts the meaning of Pound's work and represents a "misappropriation" of his image.[78]
| Chamber of Deputies | ||||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 47,691 (20th) | 0.14 | 0 / 630 | – | Gianluca Iannone | |
| 2018 | 312,432 (10th) | 0.95 | 0 / 630 | – | Simone Di Stefano | |
| Senate of the Republic | ||||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 40,540 (20th) | 0.13 | 0 / 315 | – | Gianluca Iannone | |
| 2018 | 259,718 (10th) | 0.86 | 0 / 315 | – | Simone Di Stefano | |
| European Parliament | ||||||
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 89,142 | 0.33 | 0 / 72 | New | Simone Di Stefano Massimiliano Panero | |
| Region | Election year | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lombardy | 2018 | 45,416 | 0.86 | 0 / 80 | – |
| Umbria | 2015 | 2,343 | 0.66 | 0 / 20 | – |
| Lazio | 2013 | 18,491 | 0.66 | 0 / 50 | – |
| 2018 | 42,609 | 1.68 | 0 / 50 | – | |
| Abruzzo | 2019 | 2,974 | 0.47 | 0 / 31 | – |
| Molise | 2018 | 477 | 0.33 | 0 / 21 | – |
| South Tyrol | 2018 | 2,451 | 0.86 | 0 / 35 | – |
| Trentino | 2018 | 1,215 | 0.48 | 0 / 35 | – |
"We are not racists, we are not anti-Semitic, we do not have problems with Israel," said Simone Di Stefano, CasaPound's vice president, when its then-political ally Matteo Salvini was denied entry into Israel on the purported basis of his CasaPound connection.
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