Vannacci ups the ante with the centre-right: soon our candidate for Milan
The leader of Futuro Nazionale: the party 'will be present as a party and as a team and will also have an influential mayoral candidate'
Roberto Vannacci raises his sights and aims at the next municipal elections in Milan. Futuro Nazionale, his party, 'will be present as a party and as a team and will also have an authoritative mayoral candidate,' he explained to Milano Quotidiano. The issue of possible alliances with Vannacci divides the centre-right nationally, with similar dynamics in the city. While Fratelli d'Italia is more cautious, also waiting to understand the general's true weight, the League still seems to be burnt by the betrayal, while the moderate wing, from Forza Italia to Noi Moderati, rejects any agreement.
Vannacci, meanwhile, has made his entrance into the Lombardy Regional Council with the joining of two councillors, Luca Ferrazzi and Pietro Macconi, to Futuro Nazionale. In the coming days they will meet the governor Attilio Fontana to see if there is room to join the majority in the region. It is in this context that Vannacci's latest statement on Milan fits in. 'The will is not to let the centre-left win again in Milan. If we have to dialogue, we do it with the centre-right, but we keep hearing, from Romeo to Centinaio to Lupi, that they prefer to ally themselves with Calenda, so today the conditions are not there. If these walls fall, we are available for a table, if not, we are ready to go it alone,' warned Massimiliano Bastoni, a Milanese and former long-standing Lega Nord member who landed in Futuro Nazionale before a brief interlude in Forza Italia.
A contact person for one of the 13 constituent committees of Vannacci's party that have sprung up in Milan, Bastoni is currently one of the best known profiles linked to the general in the city and his name could also be expendable for a solo run for Palazzo Marino. But those who have spoken to us assure that Vannacci also has another name in mind. In the centre-right, a Milanese alliance with Futuro Nazionale has repeatedly been ruled out. Forza Italia, in the crosshairs of the general who has also repeatedly attacked Marina Berlusconi, would prefer to broaden the coalition towards the centre and towards Action with the candidature of a civic candidate. 'Other paths would be mistakes,' reiterated Azzurro regional coordinator Alessandro Sorte. Even Noi Moderati leader Maurizio Lupi, who aspires to run for mayor, has already closed the door in Vannacci's face. Concept reiterated today by his party: 'The unity of the coalition is the indispensable basis for offering Milan a credible and long-term perspective. We certainly do not need populism or useless slogans,' commented Alessandro Colucci, regional coordinator of Noi Moderati.
For the League, it took the leader Matteo Salvini directly to stop any reasoning with the general. 'And in any case,' added Milanese Carroccio secretary Samuele Piscina, 'Vannacci has already shown he is not a good ally; an agreement with him in the city would be counterproductive. More cautious, instead, is the analysis of Fratelli d'Italia. Lombard coordinator Carlo Maccari assures that after the ballots Milan will become a priority. And he does not rule out dialogue with Vannacci in advance, while stressing that the table will start from the government allies: 'I do not preclude the hypothesis of being together even with Vannacci,' he explained, 'but we must be clear on the things to be done. Milan deserves attention and not a Sunday shot to end up in the newspapers'.
