Basta €uro – Libertà, lavoro, indipendenza!
(Enough with the €uro – Freedom, Work, Independence!)
In May 2019, the neo-fascist organization and, then, political party, CasaPound Italia (House of [Ezra] Pound Italy, CPI), ran its National Secretary, Simone di Stefano, as a candidate for the European parliamentary elections under the Alliance of European National Movements (AENM) political coalition. Featuring the phrase "Basta €uro" (Enough with the €uro), CPI encouraged its followers to pursue "Libertà, lavoro, indipendenza!" (Liberty, Work, Independence!) by voting for "#Italexit" – a reference to Nigel Farage's successful "Brexit" campaign in the United Kingdom (Asthana 2016). Featuring a tricolor Italian flag and a crossed-out EU flag, CPI's handbill urged its viewers to "Il 26 maggio vota per la libertà" (Vote for liberty on May 26).
In spite of CPI's peninsula-wide representation, with a local headquarters in nearly every major city, along with its frequent demonstrations in public spaces, the neo-fascist organization was handed a resounding rejection at the polls by Italian voters, receiving just 89,142 votes, or about one third of one percent of the vote. Shortly thereafter, CPI dissolved the political wing of its organization, choosing to focus instead on its youth and street-level activism (Berizzi 2019).
Images