MEPs Sasso and Ziello leave the League and follow Vannacci

After former Fdi member Emanuele Pozzolo, the patrol of deputies who have decided to follow General Roberto Vannacci in his new political adventure records two new entries. They are the Legahist deputies Edoardo Ziello and Rossano Sasso, who, after informing the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies of their farewell to the Carroccio group and their passage to the mixed group, explained the reasons for the divorce in a post. "The group leader of the League, Molinari, declared that my amendment to the Ukraine dl, aimed at stopping the sending of military supplies, in favour of Zelensky's army, does not represent, in any way, the party line". "I interpret politics as action and service to be guaranteed within a framework of consistency and truth. A binomial that I no longer see present in the Lega Salvini Premier,' Ziello wrote. "I want to continue to be faithful to my principles. I am leaving the League and choosing to follow General Roberto Vannacci in his identity and sovereignist battle,' Sasso echoed him.

Ziello and Sasso are the two League MPs who have always been considered closest to the general. Their farewell was in the air. All the more so after the news of the presentation of an amendment to the Ukraine aid decree (to be voted on next week in the Chamber of Deputies) calling for a halt to the sending of arms to Kiev, with an attached agenda committing the government "to immediately interrupt all supplies of military equipment and materials destined for the Ukrainian government authorities; to desecrate the lists of military material previously sent; and to allocate the resources resulting from the relative savings in spending to reinforce the staffing of the forces of law and order". The two, after all, had already voted in the House in mid-January against the majority resolution precisely on military and civilian aid to Kiev, going against the party line.

To form a new parliamentary group in the Chamber, 20 deputies are needed. Which at the moment there are not. That is why Sasso and Ziello, like Pozzolo before them, could do nothing but switch to the Mixed group for the time being. After all, the announced party of the general is not yet officially born. And even before being born, it is already experiencing some problems. Not only has the symbol been challenged by the Nazione Futura association for its excessive similarity to its own, but also the 'Futuro nazionale' trademark chosen by Vannacci, turns out, as anticipated by Il Fatto Quotidiano, to have already been deposited in 2010 by a deceased former M5s regional councillor. Although, as verified by Ansa, the trademark would not have been renewed at the expiry of the 10-year term, i.e. in 2020. According to the regulations, it would therefore be free of ownership. The line dictated by Vannacci for now is: 'As long as there is nothing else, we will continue to use the symbol. If there is nothing forbidden you can use it'

As for political positioning, the general aims to position itself as an 'interlocutor of the centre-right'. A right-wing, not anti-system party then. But will it be accepted by the rest of the coalition? According to League leader Salvini, there are no margins: 'Chapter closed for me, he is the one who put himself outside the centre-right. I don't think either Meloni or Tajani want him'. The other parties, however, are not getting out of line for now. 'We will ask ourselves the problem when a political subject will exist,' said FdI group leader in the Chamber Galeazzo Bignami. Senate vice-president Lucia Ronzulli also did not close the door a priori: 'I believe that the centre-right and the coalition have a duty to dialogue with everyone if the conditions are right. It is up to Vannacci to understand whether he is part of this path. It will depend a little on him'.

In the meantime, after an initial survey by Youtrend for SkyTG24 that estimated the new political formation 'Futuro Nazionale' at 4.2%, another survey, this time by the Only Numbers Institute (Alessandra Ghisleri) for Porta a Porta, re-dimensioned the appeal of the party of the generakle: Vannacci's Futuro Nazionale list would stand at 1.6%. Fratelli d'Italia would yield 0.2 % compared to the survey of 12 January (placing itself at 29.8%), while the League at 8% would drop 0.5%.