Gianfranco Fini

Gianfranco Fini in 2008

Gianfranco Fini (born 3 January 1952) is an Italian politician, former President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, former leader of the conservative National Alliance, the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement and the center-right Future and Freedom party. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Silvio Berlusconi’s government from 2001 to 2006.

Quotes

• Nobody can ask us to abjure our fascist roots.
  • published on il Giornale, 5 January 1990

• Mussolini was the greatest political leader of the century.
  • from an interview given to Alberto Statera published in La Stampa in April 1994
• I think the Mussolinean institution of a third way alternative to communism is currently still very relevant.
  • Corrado De Cesare, Il fascista del Duemila. Le radici del camerata Gianfranco Fini, Kaos Edizioni, 1995, ISBN 8879530461.

• If you ask me:"An openly homosexual teacher can work as a teacher? I say no. (...) I'll not do anything to discriminate you, but I'll also not do anything to put your type of relationship on the same level of the natural family.
  • Fini: un gay non puo' fare il maestro, Il Corriere della Sera, 9 April 1998.

• After 1994, we did many things. We had Fiuggi, there was a confrontation. I'd say that today one cannot say it for sure. Today, I would not say it again [that Mussolini was the greatest political leader of the century.]
  • La Stampa, 23 January 2002, p. 7.

• Times are ripe to discuss about the vote right, at least on an administrative level, for immigrant persons.
  • Corriere della Sera, Fini: diamo il diritto di voto agli immigrati, 7 October 2003.

• Fascism was part of the absolute evil. (...) We have to denounce the ashaming pages in the history of our past. (...) There included all the pages related to the discrimination and the persecution of jews and, more in general, of minoritires. And therefore that one [The Italian Social Republic of Salò] is also included.
  • During his trip to Israel Fini in Israele "Il fascismo fu parte del male assoluto", 24 November 2003.

• Communism has been the greatest and bloodiest illusion that humanity ever bore
  • Corriere della Sera Magazine, 9 March 2006.

• If we look at Somalia, Ethiopia and Lybia, to how they're reduced now, and to how they were before, with Italy, I think that this page of history will be rewritten and there will be a positive evaluation of the role of Italy
  • October 2006; cited in Alberto Piccinini, Lezioni di storia, il manifesto, 9 settembre 2008, p. 12.

• If there are rights or duties of people which are not guaranteed because they're part of a [de facto] union and not of a family, there will be the need of a legislative action to remove the disparity. Obviously, when talking about people I refer to everyone [including homosexuals].
  • Fini: "Una legge per coppie di fatto e gay", Il Giornale, 27 December 2006.

• Waiting for the implosion [of the government of Romano Prodi] is risking to turn into Waiting for Godot.
  • RaiNews24, Roma, 2007-11-16.

• I don't think that the United States are ready for a presidency as the one of Obama, at least because he would be the first black president.
  • interview by Gianni Riotta Tv7, RaiUno channel, 7 March 2008.

• Resistants were on the right side, Salò Republic's combatants on the wrong one. (...) One cannot equate who was fighting for a right cause of equality and freedom, and who, apart of goodfaith, was on the wrong side. (...) The judgement of the Right [on Fascism] have to be negative, due to freedom limitation. (...) We cannot deny ourselves history, and Fascism was a dictatorship that denied some fundamental freedoms.
  • cited in «La destra si riconosca nell'antifascismo», Il Corriere della Sera, 13 September 2008.

• The accession of Turkey [in the European Union] would be a sign of the full compatibility of Islam with democracy.
  • cited in Italy’s FM: EU should keep Constitution vote separate from Turkey’s bid, euractiv.com, 9 May 2005.

• [On Mussolini as the greatest political leader of the century] The answer is in the things I've done in the last years. I don't think the same anymore, I would be schyzophrenic.
  • cited in Corriere della sera, 26 March 2009, p. 14.