Vannacci is facing a dip in the polls and defections across the region. But the general insists: ‘Membership is growing’

Are these normal adjustments for a party that is establishing itself in the region? Or are they signs of a political party beginning to crumble, having started to see its first declines following a steady rise in the polls? It is difficult to draw conclusions. What is certain is that the combination of the recent drop in support reported by polling organisations (from 8.8 per cent to 7.9 per cent according to Ipsos Doxa for *Corriere della Sera* and from 7.8 per cent to 7 per cent according to Youtrend) and the departures from the party in recent months, is causing some cause for concern amongst the leadership of the party led by General Roberto Vannacci. Although the official line is to deny any difficulties. ‘The polls are carried out by biased agencies whose aim is not to represent reality, but to manipulate it. I said this when the polls were on the rise, and I say it again today, now that the polls are reported to be less favourable,” thunders the general, who assures us: “The number of party members continues to grow. The average is 1,000 new members a week; a few days ago we celebrated reaching the 160,000 mark.”

Yet defections are on the rise across the region. In Frosinone, an attempt to bring down the centre-right council led by Mayor Riccardo Mastrangeli failed, with local Vannacci supporters deciding to turn their backs on the general and remain loyal to the mayor. Consequently, the provincial coordinator of Futuro Nazionale in Frosinone, Antonio Scaccia, and the entire leadership team have decided to leave Futuro Nazionale. The decision was formalised in a political document in which the need for the provincial capital to remain governable was declared a priority.

In Calabria, five local representatives – from Cosenza to Castrovillari – have resigned in protest against ‘dynamics that are all too reminiscent of those of the old politics: decisions imposed from above, a lack of participation and a growing disconnect from those actually working within local communities’. There has also been criticism of a political line deemed ‘too extreme and far removed from a modern, balanced and responsible centre-right’. Meanwhile, in Polesine, there have been further departures. Following the resignations of three representatives from the constituent committees, Ciro D’Orsi, head of Committee 805 in Rovigo, has also parted ways with the party, announcing the dissolution of his local political organisation. A certain degree of discontent had already emerged over the summer, for example with the departure of Cristian Orta, a councillor and former deputy mayor from Pescara, and that offormer Sardinian regional councillor Marcello Orrù in Sassari, who announced that the 500 members of his committee wished to return their membership cards to join Italia Domani led by Marco Rizzo, a former admirer of the General.

The decision by the disciplinary committee of Futuro Nazionale to expel Luca Sforzini dates back to last September, ‘following his repeated outbursts in the press and on social media, which involved attacks on other party members and entirely unfounded descriptions of the movement’. Luca Sforzini, president of the Centro Studi Rinascimento Nazionale, was one of the key figures in the political and social development of Roberto Vannacci’s movement. However, over time, Sforzini had adopted a more moderate, more liberal stance compared to the radical line of the former paratroop commander. He had made statements such as: “The atmosphere within Futuro Nazionale is chilling. This constant reference to the past is detrimental.” This was followed by his expulsion. Last month, however, Onelio Onofrio Francioso (who is also a member of the think tank Centro Studi Rinascimento Nazionale), who joined Marco Rizzo’s Italia Domani, taking on the role of coordinator for the city of Milan, with the aim of shaping the party’s platform ahead of the forthcoming local elections in the Lombard capital.

The general, however, appears unperturbed. And to those who point out instances of members leaving the party, he replies: ‘To quote Shakespeare’s Henry V, I say that we shall provide those who leave with well-rested horses and fresh provisions to make their journey more pleasant. We want those who believe in us to be there in battle: it is for them that we continue to press on.’