Vannacci: ‘Italia per gli italiani: noi siamo i guardiani della sovranità.’ E lui rifiuta le alleanze ‘con quelli che stanno portando avanti l’agenda Draghi’

“Italia for Italians. We are here to serve their interests. We’ll succeed despite the dirty dozen and the good-for-nothings.” And again: “It’s either us at Futuro Nazionale, guardians of sovereignty and citizenship, or Von der Leyen, Draghi, multinationals and globalism.” With these slogans, Roberto Vannacci fires up the audience from the stage of his party’s constituent assembly currently taking place in Rome. And he positions himself, if confirmation were needed, as the leader of a fiercely anti-establishment party. The general responds to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s accusations (she is not named) that the ‘Futurists’ are not ‘the true right but merely serving the left’, having almost never voted in favour of the government. He then lists all the times in Europe when ‘Forza Italia voted against, alongside the PD, M5S and AVS’, measures deemed right-wing by the FnV leader. He then presses on: ‘Why should I ally myself with this centre-right coalition that continues to push forward the Draghi agenda, the Green Deal or the common debt?’ And he adds: ‘We represent the rejects and the dregs, and we are proud to be so. In Parliament we are a dirty dozen; here we are nobody’s children and very proud of it.’ And again: ‘We are rooted in Roman and Christian tradition and firmly grounded.’

Vannacci speaks from the stage of the constituent assembly. With delegates and guests, the event is “sold out” with 1,700 people in attendance. The General will once again bring the two-day event in Rome to a close, an event that will define the party’s structure, complete with a national executive and programme. Families, businesses and schools, at the very least, are among the issues that will be added to the key priorities for a comprehensive policy agenda.

The general, marking the launch of his political venture – which currently has a contingent in Parliament of eight MPs, has invited all party leaders in recent weeks. The centre-left declined to attend. The centre-right’s approach, agreed during a telephone call between Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini, Antonio Tajani and Maurizio Lupi, is instead to attend with delegations composed of local representatives. The inaugural session was attended by the Rome city coordinators of Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia and the Lega, namely MP Marco Perissa, Luisa Regimenti and Angelo Valeriani respectively.

The electoral clout of FnV, which is reported to be rising in the polls to the point of almost catching up with the Lega, is raising questions for all centre-right leaders and beyond. Will FnV remain outside the majority? ‘If they continue to vote like Schlein, Boldrini and Ricciardi, it seems clear to me what choice they have made...’ says Giovanni Donzelli, head of organisation at Fratelli d’Italia. And furthermore: would it be advisable to keep the Vannaccians on board, in light of the electoral law currently being drafted? “That question should be put to those who are deciding to split the centre-right to help the left win the elections,” comments Donzelli.

For his part, Edoardo Ziello, MP and head of organisation for Futuro Nazionale, writes on social media: “Now even Meloni is inexplicably attacking the General, rather than reaching out to him to strengthen the right. She is clearly under pressure from the Salvinis of the moment. Now it’s all very clear. She wants to build the same cordon sanitaire around Futuro Nazionale that her friend Merz attempted against the AfD in Germany (without success, incidentally). President Meloni, it is not Vannacci who is weakening the centre-right, but those in government who fail to keep their promises. That is how the left wins. We remain true to our values and will not water them down for a few more positions of power.