ITALY’S elections should be a wake up call to anti-racists and anti-fascists everywhere, campaigners in Britain have warned.

Exit polls for the country’s general election have put Giorgia Meloni on course to be the next Italian prime minister, with her right-wing alliance gaining a majority.

The leader of the Brothers of Italy, which supporters of Mussolini formed, has previously called the fascist dictator a “good politician.”

Stand up to Racism co-convener Weyman Bennett said: “The Italian elections reflect the wider danger of fascist-influenced parties threatening democracy, using the rise in virulent racism and Islamophobia to make political gains for fascism.

“Ultimately, they will offer no answer to the real problems in Italy, and history sends us a chilling warning — that we must fight these new Mussolinis no matter how much they seek to camouflage themselves.

“Fascism, and the racist division it thrives from, should not be normalised.”

The group will be holding an international conference on October 15 to bring activists from across the world and build a mass anti-racist movement.

Details can be found on Eventbrite.