Former General Launches New Far-Right Party in Italy

Italian MEP and former general Roberto Vannacci has launched a new far-right party, Futuro Nazionale, posing a challenge to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ahead of next year’s general election.

“We represent the rejects and the dregs, and are proud of it”, Vannacci, 57, told the party’s inaugural congress. He founded the movement four months after leaving Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s League party.

Futuro Nazionale is polling at close to 5%, putting it within reach of the League and potentially complicating Meloni’s hopes of retaining power. An electoral pact with Vannacci, however, could alienate moderate voters deterred by his anti-EU and pro-Russia agenda.

Vannacci has positioned himself as one of Italy’s most hardline voices on immigration. He said he wanted to cut the proportion of foreigners living in the country from an estimated 12% to about 4%.

“We don’t have a program for immigration, we have a program for re-migration”, he told supporters.

The party’s program also calls for a debate on Italy’s membership of the eurozone, the abandonment of the European Green Deal and an end to the country’s ban on nuclear power. It backs tax incentives for families with children.

Vannacci said security and defense would be his first priority, promising zero tolerance for criminals and the construction of more prisons.

He has accused Meloni of abandoning many of her campaign pledges, although he acknowledged that his own plans could change.

“No plan survives the first shot in battle ... it has to be adapted to reality”, he said.

(reuters, max)