A tiny Italian far-right party has claimed
success in raising funds for a money prize it is offering to parents who name
their babies after wartime fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, or his wife
Rachele, dpa reported.
"We've got 516,000 euros (668,000 dollars), with donations coming in from
all over the world," MSI-Fiamma Tricolore official, Vincenzo Mancusi, told
Milan-daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday.
Substantial donations from Carinthia - the state in Austria which was until
recently governed by the late far-right leader Joerg Haider - France and Spain have been registered, Mancusi said.
"One woman from Madrid donated 16,000 euros and told us she is prepared to
sell some of her assets to continue supporting our initiative," he added.
The party appears to have been less successful in attracting parents who stand
to receive 1,500 euros for registering their child with the required names.
According to Mancusi, since the November 2008, six couples have contacted the
MSI-Fiamma Tricolore, with two saying they would adhere provided their prize
money was devolved to charity,
Eligible for the prize are couples who live in five municipalities in the
southern Basilicata region where birthrates are exceptionally low.
The party says it is highlighting its fear that Italy's population is
threatened with extinction, while also paying homage to Mussolini whose ideas
continue to influence the MSI-Fiamma Tricolore's outlook.
Mussolini, who ruled Italy for two decades, was ousted in 1943 after leading
the country to ruin by entering World War Two as an ally of Nazi Germany. He
was executed along with his mistress Claretta Petacci in 1945. His widow
Rachele died in 1979.
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