New Force (Italian: Forza Nuova, FN) is an Italian far-right political party. It was founded by Roberto Fiore and Massimo Morsello, former neofascist terrorists of ‘Third Position’ (Italian: Terza Posizione) during the so-called ‘lead years’. The party is a member of the Alliance for Peace and Freedom and was a part of the Social Alternative from 2003 to 2006.
Forza Nuova was founded on September 1997, on the occasion of a meeting organized by Francesco Pallottino, leader of the right-wing alternative music group “Intolerance”.
The choice of the date was not accidental, referring to the name day of St. Michael the Archangel, symbol among other things of the Romanian Iron Guard, source of inspiration for FN. It was soon characterized by a strong reference to historical fascism, Peronism and Catholic traditionalism, aggregating the youth dissent of the Fiamma Tricolore, fringes of skinheads and autonomous groups.
FN has often been strongly criticized for its far-right positions and for acts of violence involving some militants, such as the terrorist attack of one of its members, Luca Traini in 2018 in Macerata. It was also the protagonist of political campaigns opposed to same-sex marriage, anti-abortion and against immigration.
Football support is a channel of involvement for neofascists, since it conveys a sense of communitarian membership, allowing connections with hooligans’ groups, such as those of “Hellas” in Verona, or “Irriducibili” in Lazio region.
FN applied for parliamentary elections already in 2001 for the districts of Veneto, Lombardy, Lazio and Campania, gaining everywhere less than 1% of consensus.
From 2003 to 2006 FN arranged alliances with Alessandra Mussolini’s Alternativa Sociale – the dictator’s granddaughter – and then with Libertà ed Azione within the ‘National Social Front’. In April 2009, after Mussolini’s resignation, Fiore stepped in as MEP. Since the last political elections in 2018, FN has applied with a nationalist alliance „Italy to Italians“, creating at the same time the European group ‘Alliance for Peace and Freedom’ (APF).
