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Translated by: Flutura Gashi-Mehmeti
- June 14, 2026 18:03
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General Roberto Vannacci launched his new far-right party on Sunday, posing a direct challenge to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as he aims to push Italy onto a tougher, more nationalist course ahead of next year's elections.
Introduced by a party official as a "modern-day Julius Caesar," the 57-year-old former paratrooper was greeted with cheers as he took to the stage at the inaugural congress of the Futuro Nazionale party.
"We represent the rejected and the despised, and we are proud of it," said Vannacci, who is trying to position himself further to the right than Meloni's conservative coalition, four months after leaving the League party of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
Vannacci's populist movement is already showing around 5% support in the polls, approaching the level of the "Lega" party and risking complicating Meloni's plans to retain power in next year's national elections unless she reaches an electoral agreement with him.
However, such an alliance would carry great risks for Meloni, as it could alienate more moderate voters, concerned by Vannacci's anti-EU, pro-Russia stances and close ties to far-right parties in Europe, such as the Alternative for Germany in Germany.
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Presenting himself as the most vocal anti-immigration voice in Italy, Vannacci declared on Sunday that he would reduce the number of foreigners living in the country to around 4% of the total population, from the approximately 12% currently estimated.
"We don't have a program for immigration, we have a program for re-emigration," he said to applause and cheers from his supporters.
