In the mirror of Fascism: Portugal and the Italian experience

The impact of Italian Fascism on the conservative and radical Right in Portugal is the focus of this essay, which analyses the way in which conservative Catholicism and radical nationalism – two of the main ideological strands in Portuguese conservatism – viewed and related to the Italian experience at the time of the Portuguese republic’s crisis and in the early years of the dictatorship. Setting out from Salazar’s famous interview with Antonio Ferro and from the relation it suggests between Salazarism and Fascism, the first part of the essay investigates the development of Sidonio Pais’ original dictatorship in the last year of the War and its role in the transformation of Right-wing Portuguese politics. The second part of the essay instead analyses the relationship between the Italian and the Portuguese nationalist Right in the 1910s and 1920s, and the relationship between the nationalist Right and Fascism. Finally, the third part explores the relationship between the Catholic experience in Portugal in the years leading up to the dictatorship and its role with respect to the origins of the dictatorship, by also examining the impact of Italian Fascism and the Lateran Treaty on Portuguese Catholics. The overall picture of these relations outlines a profile of the different currents of the Portuguese Right that ultimately flowed into Salazar’s regime, while also tracing the complex links between this regime and the various currents of Italian Fascism. The article ends with a reflection on the importance of the relationship between the Fascist ruling class sprung from nationalist ranks – with special yet not exclusive reference to the figure of Luigi Federzoni – and Salazar’s regime. Through an analysis of these relations it is possible to assess the importance of the autonomous image of itself that the nationalist ruling class continued to project under Fascism, despite its being an integral part of the Fascist regime. Overall, starting from this particular case study, the article opens up new research perspectives on Italian Fascism and the relations between the European and Italian conservative Right and fascist movements.