The belief in a great leader is something all political tendencies can fall victim to. But I think only the left took to heart the failures of the authoritarian

The belief in a great leader is something all political tendencies can fall victim to. But I think only the left took to heart the failures of the authoritarian “leftist” leaders of the 20th century. Now anytime a leftist leader reaches prominence they are subject to endless purity tests from the left. Not so on the right, which is odd because they’ve had their share of genocidal dictators. I’m reminded of an anecdote I heard from an Italian commentator on the recent election of a neofascist leader: “Many Italians still seen fascism itself as a stigma, but convinced themselves that she [Meloni] was not a fascist or racist because she is representing the new tendency, which rejects the letter of the old fascist policies while arguing for the spirit.”