Lepore clashes with Meloni government ahead of regional vote in Emilia-Romagna.

The centre-left mayor of Bologna lashed out at Italy's right-wing government on Sunday following clashes between riot police and left-wing protesters in the north Italian city.

Matteo Lepore accused the government of "sending 300 Blackshirts" to Bologna, a reference to the armed squads of Italian Fascists under wartime dictator Benito Mussolini.

The clashes broke out on Saturday during an anti-fascist demonstration by left-wing collectives in protest against an authorised rally by members of the extreme-right Rete dei Patrioti and the neo-fascist CasaPound movement.

The CasaPound rally was scheduled to finish near the city's central station, site of the 1980 Bologna Massacre attributed to far-right terrorists, a circumstance that mobilised Bologna's anti-fascist network into staging a counter-protest.

Politicians on the left including Partito Democratico (PD) leader Elly Schlein joined the Bologna branch of ANPI, Italy's partisan association which preserves the memory of the Resistance movement against Fascism, at the protest on Saturday morning.

The far-right rally began in the afternoon but stopped behind the cordon set up by riot police near the train station where crowds sang Bella Ciao and hurled insults at the demonstrators.

Clashes broke out between the riot police and left-wing protesters as the latter attempted to reach the far-right demonstrators. Three police officers were injured.

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni offered her "total solidarity" to the police whose members responded to the "usual violent [people]" with "firmness and professionalism", adding: "It is sad to see that a certain left continues to tolerate and, at times, support these troublemakers, instead of openly condemning these episodes and showing solidarity with those who, every day, work to ensure everyone's safety."

Ancora violenze e scontri generati dai collettivi, a Bologna, rivolti contro la Polizia di Stato. La mia totale solidarietà va agli uomini e alle donne delle Forze dell’Ordine, che con fermezza e professionalità hanno affrontato i soliti violenti, tra lanci di petardi e sassi,…— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) November 9, 2024

Lepore, a member of the PD, stormed: "Public order should not have been managed in this way, I think the interior minister owes an explanation to the city of Bologna".

The mayor repeated demands for government funding in the wake of recent devastating floods in Bologna, noting that Meloni was due to visit the city on Monday as the centre-right closes its election campaign in Emilia-Romagna ahead of regional elections next week.

Interior minister Matteo Piantedosi on Monday said he was "astonished" by the Bologna mayor's remarks, stating the government has "always guaranteed every form of convinced, loyal cooperation" to the city.

Piantedosi also said it was "serious to insinuate alleged direction or interventions from Rome.”

Italy's deputy premier Matteo Salvini also hit back, labelling the anti-fascist demonstrators “communist criminals” and calling for the closure of “illegally occupied social centres”.

Non si spengono le polemiche sugli scontri di sabato scorso a Bologna tra le forze dell'ordine e i manifestanti antifascisti che volevano fermare un corteo di CasaPound e altre organizzazioni di estrema destra pic.twitter.com/SD0EI1YbbD

— Tg3 (@Tg3web) November 11, 2024

There was further controversy when television footage by news agency Dire appeared to show a far-right leader "giving orders" to riot police, telling them to lower their shields.

In a statement, the Silp-Cgil police union condemned the dialogue as "unacceptable", however the Questura police headquarters in Bologna “categorically” denied that members of Casapound or others “had an influence on the decisions taken".

Michele De Pascale, the centre-left candidate in the Emilia-Romagna elections, condemned the violence, stating: "The neo-fascist organisations must be dissolved and demonstrations that have the purpose of apologia of the fascist regime should not be authorised".

Meloni was expected to arrive in Bologna on Monday to give her backing to Elena Ugolini in the race to be president of the Emilia-Romagna region, after the former governor Stefano Bonaccini (PD) stood down in July following his election to the European parliament.

Meloni’s coalition governs 14 out of 20 Italian regions following last month's narrow victory by Marco Bucci, the centre-right candidate in Liguria.

The government will be hoping for more electoral gains in Umbria next week but faces an uphill task in Emilia-Romagna, long a left-wing stronghold.

Both sets of regional elections are scheduled to take place on 17-18 November.

Photo credit: MikeDotta / Shutterstock.com.