"We must cleanse our streets of the black-skinned, the yellow-skinned, the Roma … I would have all the immigrants put on file, one by one. Unfortunately, this is not allowed by the law. They are the carriers of all sorts of diseases, tuberculosis, Aids, scabies, hepatitis"

This is how Giancarlo Gentilini, former mayor of Treviso (1994-2005) and current deputy mayor, a leading figure in the Lega Nord (Northern League), addressed the Festival of the People of Padania in September 2008. Last month he was convicted by a court in Venice of "inciting racial hatred" and, as a result, will not be allowed to address political rallies for three years.

In the country where Mussolini's racial laws were approved in 1938, the current anti-fascist constitution, which came into force on 1 January 1948 after the liberation struggles, forbids the re-formation of the Fascist party.

In postwar Italy, both fascism and racism – the essence of the extreme right – have therefore had to find new and original ways of expressing themselves. Gianfranco Fini, president of the house of deputies, originally belonged to the neofacist party Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI). The MSI subjected itself to a long and critical review of its fascist roots, and by the 1990s had accepted the values of parliamentary democracy and the constitution of the republic, relaunching itself as the Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance). In the meantime the rich Italian vein of xenophobic and racist ideas were siphoned off into the Lega Nord, a grassroots movement inspired by the French New Right ethno-pluralists such as Alain de Benoist. The ugly face of this movement was hidden behind the term "federalism" –- which is why Gentilini and Mario Borghezio, the colourful MEP also from the Lega Nord, always brag that they are "federalists".

Gentilini's real views are clearly expressed in the quote above that lead to his conviction. In this, he mirrors the feelings of many fellow inhabitants in the wealthy and economically successful Veneto region.

Amid all this, Fini, who is the third highest officer in the state after president Giorgio Napolitano and prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and is now the deputy leader in Berlusconi's Popolo della Libertà, finds himself in a difficult position in his efforts to build a respectable right, albeit with ample room to manoeuvre.

On the one hand, he has to steer the rightwing vote away from the racism of characters such as Gentilini, whose supporters fundamentally oppose the political unity of Italy, and who consider the south of the country to be as under-developed as the Islamic countries on the Mediterranean coast.

On the other hand, Fini has to provide a buffer for Berlusconi's subversive tendencies, displayed last week when he announced, following the court's rejection of British lawyer David Mills' appeal in a corruption case in which he is also involved: "I will not resign even if I am convicted."

Accordingly, Berlusconi's party has for some time now been unable to use the traditional rightwing motto of "Law and Order". Instead the Italian centre-right has been busy demolishing the respect for legality, in a long-running campaign to denigrate judges.

Fini has attempted to thwart this suicidal strategy, which undermines the foundations of the rule of law and civil relations between the government and the opposition. But he is not yet strong enough to defeat an excessively rich and powerful media tycoon like Berlusconi.

Translated from Italian by Judy Segor