The movement often becomes “your entire life, 360 degrees” to the exclusion of all else, another activist said. “Inside the branch you make solid bonds, so you become friends outside of the political context. There is trust, there is friendship, you go out together at night, you even find love. That happens, absolutely.”
Smells like teen spirit
At the four-day event, which ran with the tagline “#NoFilter,” the young activists followed in Meloni’s footsteps: Italy’s leader rose to prominence on the right as founder and organizer of the equivalent youth festival of the day.
When Meloni joined the equivalent movement aged 15, it was at the tail end of decades of political violence, on both right and left, which she said Kirk’s killing echoed. She has often cast her teenage activism as a rebellion against her school teachers and the leftist mainstream in the neighborhood in which she grew up.
Now, with her party leading the government, right-wing activism has become less toxic.
According to Alfonso Pepe, a 29-year-old lawyer from Salerno who joined the movement aged 15, it has “definitely become easier, because we are in government … before, you were marginalized by society.”
But movement leader Roscani said it is still challenging for students, who come up against broader perceptions that the National Youth’s views are outmoded and unacceptable. “We always say they have to study more, be the best in the class.”
“As we’ve shown, we can govern this country,” Meloni told attendees. “We are not afraid. We will never be like the left, who hate.”