New Force (, FN) is an Italian neo-fascist political party.Giovanni Savino, "From Evola to Dugin", in: It was founded by Roberto Fiore and Massimo Morsello. The party is a member of the

Alliance for Peace and Freedom The Alliance for Peace and Freedom (APF) is a far-right European political alliance and former European political party founded on 4 February 2015. The main member parties were involved in the defunct European National Front. The alliance wi ...

and was a part of the Social Alternative from 2003 to 2006. The party has often been strongly criticized for its radical positions and for acts of violence involving some militants. It was also the protagonist of political campaigns opposed to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and immigration to Italy.

History

New Force was formed within the Tricolour Flame (''Fiamma Tricolore'') and then began the process that led it to become a party. Its founders and financiers were two well-known names from the years of militancy in the lead for the movements of the Roman radical right, and for their neo-fascist political beliefs. The split occurred when Tricolour Flame of Pino Rauti began to oppose the distribution among its members of the bulletin of Roberto Fiore and Massimo Morsello. In 1980, Fiore and Morsello escaped to London as fugitives after arrest warrants aimed at shedding light on the facts of the massacre at the Bologna railway station. The two were considered unrelated to the massacre, although they belonged, according to the judiciary, to the

Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari The Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (), abbreviated NAR, was an Italian neofascist, neo-fascist armed militant organization active during the Years of Lead (Italy), Years of Lead from 1977 to November 1981. It committed over 100 murders in four year ...

. They both stayed in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the first government led by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

with the status of political refugees for 20 years. New Force was founded on 29 September 1997 at a meeting in

Cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

, in the province of

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, organized by Francesco Pallottino, leader of a Nazi rock group. It was not a random date because it is the one dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, a symbol among other things of the Romanian

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

, to which Forza Nuova historically refers. The founders Fiore and Morsello were still fugitives in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and did not return until 1999. Fiore was sentenced by a court to 66 months in prison. Morsello was sentenced to 98 months, although he did not serve them as he was dying from cancer (he died in March 2001). The national launch of the group was in Latina with a conference in April 1998. Forza Nuova was placed on the political scene with the goal at the local level, to broaden their contacts on concrete campaigns against

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, crime, and to hold together the conservative

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

traditionalist with the social channel blocker. On 25 March 1999, Massimo Morsello returned to Italy, and so did Roberto Fiore on 21 April of the following year. Gallo Giuliano
"Roma, naziskin a giudizio,"
''Corriere della Sera'' (23 April 1999). Retrieved 14-12-2013. They were welcomed at the airport by deputies of the National Alliance and Forza Italia such as Francesco Storace, Enzo Fragalà, Alberto Simeone, Carlo Taormina, Ernesto Caccavale and Teodoro Buontempo. In early 2001, the movement could count on 2500 members and forty sections scattered across Italy. Forzanuova

In 2001 general election, New Force gained 13,622 votes at the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

. In 2008 general election, the party won 0.30% in the Chamber and 0.26% in the Senate. It has not been elected a parliamentary presented himself in the lists of the party. Following the resignation of mandatory Alessandra Mussolini, elected to the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fiore became MEP. In 2013 general election, New Force got 89,812 votes (0.26%) in the Chamber of Deputies and 81,521 votes in the Senate, failing to elect any candidate but becoming the largest

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

party in Italy. In 2016, New Force was featured in an episode of ''Huang's World'' on the television channel Viceland. In the episode, the members went out to eat with Eddie Huang, the host, and an apparent local Sicilian walked by and happened to recognize the politicians and yelled at them for their far-right views. It ends with the host and camera crew going to jail because, they claimed, the New Force members had them arrested by the police. For the 2018 general election New Force joined with Tricolour Flame to form the Italy for the Italians coalition. In May 2020 an internal party split takes place, dozens of offices throughout Italy leave the party giving life to a new entity called National Movement – The Network of the Patriots in controversy with the management of Fiore and Castellino considered not very transparent and too close to

Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...

as well as aiming exclusively at obtaining media hype. The new political entity is officially founded on 10 October 2020. On 9 October 2021 New Force militants attacked the

Italian General Confederation of Labour The Italian General Confederation of Labour (, , CGIL ) is a national trade union centre in Italy. It was formed by an agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and ...

's headquarters during a protest march against vaccine passports. Party founder and national secretary Roberto Fiore, the chief of the Roman chapter of the party Giuliano Castellino, the former NAR

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

Luigi Aronica and other party members were arrested in the aftermath of the attack. On 11 October 2021 the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Rome imposed a block on the party's website.

Presence outside Italy

Forza Nuova has longstanding ties to other European far-right organization, including the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...

.Giovanni Savino, "From Evola to Dugin: The Neo-Eurasianist Connection in Italy" in ''Eurasianism and the European Far Right: Reshaping the Europe–Russia Relationship'' (ed. Marlene Laruelle: Lexington Books, 2015), p. 115. Forza Nuova leader Roberto Fiore was once closely allied with the Ukrainian far-right Svoboda party, but following the beginning of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, Forza Nuova and Fiore "made a considerable shift to the pro-Russian camp." According to the Political Capital Institute, a Hungarian think tank, Forza Nuova is one of a number of Russian-backed radical right political parties in Europe. In 2016, a Forza Nuova affiliate continued attempts to recruit members in the United States. The group established Forza Nuova—USA chapters in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

(Forza Nuova—USA's headquarters) and

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. In 2018, Forza Nuova joined forces with Polish ultra-right organization National Radical Camp to "patrol" the beaches of Italian Romagna Riviera.

Political platform

The political movement claims to aim for "national reconstruction" by achieving eleven objectives: * The repeal of

abortion law Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...

. * A social policy that encourages

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...

and the traditional family. * Opposition to

and the humane repatriation of recent immigrants to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. * The fight against the Mafia, the banning of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and all secret societies, together with exit from

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and removal from the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

sphere of influence. * The fight against

usury Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...

and writing off of

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occu ...

, as well as the abolition of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

. * The restoration of the 1929

agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus (disambiguation), a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of ...

between the

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and the defence of national identity. * The repeal of the Mancino and Scelba laws, which the Forza Nuova believes destroy freedom. * The formation of guilds for the protection of workers. * Laws to eliminate

seigniorage Seigniorage , also spelled seignorage or seigneurage (), is the increase in the value of money due to money creation minus the cost of producing the additional money. Monetary seigniorage is where government bonds are exchanged for newly create ...

banking income and for the state to issue currency; complementary currencies for local trade, and the nationalization of the following sectors: health, the central bank, commercial banks and strategic industries * The "recovery of Christian religiosity" and of "faith in the Catholic Church". New Force is also characterized by

Euroscepticism Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform ...

; Roberto Fiore, FN leader, stated that he wanted to oppose "with all possible legal means" the entry into force of the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

. As the

began, the party started supporting Russia, although it had previously enjoyed relations with Ukrainian far-right groups. This has created a disunity with CasaPound, which is pro-Ukraine. According to the Italian edition of the ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'', members of New Force went to fight in Ukraine for Russia, among them Andrea Palmeri, enlisted in the separatist forces in Donbas. Regarding the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

, New Force is pro-

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and are accused of supporting extremist groups like

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

(views that are shared among the Italian neo-fascist groups). After 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, New Force led by Roberto Fiore organized demonstrations in support of "Palestinian resistance".

Election results

Italian Parliament

European Parliament

Symbolism

Symbols

Logo of New Force (Italy, 2000–2004).svg, 2000–2004 Forza Nuova.svg, 2006–2020 New logo introduced in 2021, depicting a

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

, refers to the logo of

Ala Littoria Ala Littoria S.A. was the Italian national airline that operated during the fascist regime in the 1930s and 1940s. History ''Ala Littoria'' was formed by a merger of Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM), Società Anonima Navigazione Aerea (S ...

, national airline from 1934 to 1945.

Association with white shirts

During 2014 anti-immigration demonstrations, the party members wore white shirts. According to Italian journalist Fabio Spaterna, the use of white shirts symbolizes their "anti-immigrant instances". In addition to this distinctive clothing the ''forzanovisti'' () have flown the flag of the Russian Federation. New Force leader Roberto Fiore justified the Russian flag presence by affirming: "Irony of history, Putin is the only one who represents our values today".

Notes

External links

* {{Political parties of Italy Christian fascism Clericalism Euronat members Political parties established in 1997 1997 establishments in Italy Anti-abortion organizations Anti-immigration politics in Europe Catholic political parties Eurosceptic parties in Italy Social conservative parties Ultranationalist parties Neo-fascist parties in Italy