The 47-year-old politician from the right-wing opposition party Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) has been a member of the Rome City Council for the past five years. In the recent election, she received 6,522 votes, more than any other candidate, and thereby won a second term as a city councilor.
This immediately became the subject of heated debate on social media, as many Italians expressed anger that a granddaughter of the fascist dictator could earn such political recognition. Many local media outlets joined in on the criticism, aimed at the Brothers of Italy.
"If a party nominates a person named Mussolini, it does so to attract the votes of those who mourn Mussolini. And that's that," Massimo Gramellini, a well-known journalist writing for the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera, stated on Thursday.
In response to the criticism, Rachele said that her victory had nothing to do with her surname. According to the politician, the voters simply showed support for her hard work.
Rachele Mussolini is a daughter of the famous jazz musician Romano Mussolini, the dictator's fourth child, and brother-in-law of Italian actress Sophia Loren. Rachele's half-sister Alessandra Mussolini was also involved in politics and was elected five times as a member of the national parliament, once as a senator and twice as a European parliamentarian, before retiring in 2020.
Rachele also says that she has "many left-wing friends."