This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Political violence is increasing in Italy in the final weeks before the country votes in national elections, with skirmishes between fascists and leftwing activists, and racially motivated attacks on migrants reported.

The incidents, including an attack on one of the leaders of the far-right group Forza Nuova in Palermo on Wednesday morning, are reminiscent of a far more violent era in Italy – the so-called Years of Lead that began in the late 1960s when the country suffered a wave of domestic terrorism by forces on the extreme left and right.

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The mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando, condemned the attack on Massimo Ursino, who was bound with tape and beaten by a gang of leftwing extremists in the Sicilian capital.

Orlando said the attack, which occurred as Forza Nuova’s national head was preparing a visit to Palermo this weekend, was a sign of the “shameful and disgraceful” state of politics in Italy. He also condemned the violence perpetrated by extreme right groups, but said: “We can’t beat fascism with violence. We can’t beat fascism with fascist behaviour.’’

The leftwing attackers - who wore balaclavas, filmed their attack and sent it to media outlets – defended the violence. In a statement, they accused men such as Ursino of spreading hate and racism across Italy.

“We tied him up and beat him to show that Palermo is antifascist and there is no place for men like him here,’’ they said. Ursino was taken to hospital with injuries to his head and face, but was released on Thursday.

Raffaele Marchetti, a national security expert at Luiss University in Rome, said such beatings and fights were common in the 1970s but had largely disappeared. Now, however, they seem to be making a comeback.

He pointed to a recent assessment presented to the Italian parliament by the country’s intelligence services, which said the rise in extremism, especially on the right, was a threat to national security.

“Clearly, ahead of the election, there is a situation of tension and people feel more confident to go to one extreme or another,” he said.

The attack on Ursino followed a high-profile attack against six migrants in the town of Macerata, who were shot and injured by a far-right extremist with an Italian flag draped around his neck.

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The election campaign has also been marked by ugly acts of harassment and racism.

More than a dozen activists were reported to police after Giorgia Meloni, a candidate with the far-right Brothers of Italy party, was verbally insulted and spat at during a campaign rally in Livorno.

Another incident in January involving a doctor in the city of Cantù made headlines after a patient refused to be examined by him because he was black.

Dr Andi Nganso, who was born in Cameroon and has lived in Italy for 12 years, wrote on his Facebook page that a patient refused to be treated “by a negro”. He joked about the episode, but also acknowledged that it had “knocked me back”.

In the Umbrian town of Soleto, a priest who has often spoken out against racism and in defence of migrants was believed to have been the target of intimidation by far-right activists after his rectory and home were ransacked.

Father Gianfranco Formenton, a parish priest at Sant’Angelo in Mercole, had strongly condemned the Macerata shooting.

“I live alone and in quite an isolated area,” he told the newspaper Il Messaggero. “But I will continue to live here as well as carry out my mission without stepping back.”