Intercept approximately 800 thousand more votes. It is the bet of Matteo Salvini who is betting on Roberto Vannacci at the European Championships to make the League win the derby with Forza Italia and avoid overtaking, even against the doubts of some of his party. There were few welcome messages to the general, who will be a candidate in every constituency, and as the leader in his home district, Central Italy. The doubts are more explicit. The governor Massimiliano Fedriga, for example, has already announced that he will not vote for the 56-year-old Tuscan: “I am very happy with the three candidates from Friuli Venezia Giulia and only three preferences are possible”.
The topic also takes center stage at the FdI event in Pescara, amidst curiosity and fears that this move could drain preferences. Among the allies, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto comments sarcastically: “A win-win choice, as they say. For him, for the League and for the army”. If he is elected, he will have to leave or go on leave. “Crosetto also has a large following in the Armed Forces and in Leonardo – the response to the poison of the Northern League deputy secretary Andrea Crippa -. Since he has such a large following, he should run and compete in a difficult and expensive electoral campaign”. “I leave the sarcasm to the minister. It’s his opinion, if he thinks this is the case I wouldn’t want to disappoint him”, replies Vannacci, who “for now” is not leaving the army and, if he doesn’t land in Strasbourg, he will decide how to behave later .
“I’m not sure I’ll be elected, now the real battle begins”, says the general, who swears he only untied the knot “3-4 days ago”, with a WhatsApp to Salvini: “He wrote to me that he was happy” . He still has “many commitments made” for the presentation of the new book and, from what we learn, he should soon make some public appearances alongside the secretary. Meanwhile he declined his priorities: “In Europe to fight uncontrolled immigration and mend relations with Russia, never again big mistakes such as green passes and compulsory vaccination”. “An excellent start. Well done general. Speak clearly straight away”, the solitary welcome from Claudio Borghi.
“It is not a turn to the right – assures Edoardo Rixi -. The League has always nominated people of any political tendency, as long as they are driven by the desire to commit to our country”. Those in the League who consider him “a parachutist who parachuted in” are colder. Gian Marco Centinaio will not vote for him. “We hope to also nominate someone from the League…”, jokes Paolo Grimoldi, coordinator of the Northern Committee created by Umberto Bossi, in the same direction. “These are their problems, to be resolved within the party, for which I don’t have the membership card”, cuts short Vannacci, who is running as an “independent” and imagined being the leader in more than one constituency, as revealed before the position was made official high only in the Center. The League underlines the “great interest aroused” by the candidacy “even in worlds outside the party”. When the big leaguers put their doubts on the table in recent weeks, they heard Salvini say that the general has a potential of 800 thousand votes. The equivalent of around 3% if the 24 million of the 2022 politicians voted. Even more if the turnout is low, especially considering that Vannacci, with the book published a year ago, has attracted consensus in a conservative, right-wing world , in the armed forces and anti-vax circles, even among many who have distanced themselves from FdI and Lega in recent years. In recent months he has been defended by former AN colonels such as Francesco Storace (“Long live Salvini and long live Vannacci, certain Northern League members should answer”) and Gianni Alemanno. In the last few hours it has become trending on X.
His Facebook page has over 17 thousand followers, his Instagram page has over 5 thousand. According to some estimates, his first book, ‘The World Upside Down’, has sold over 230 thousand copies. ‘Courage wins’, recently released, is published by the same publishing house as Salvini’s biography. ‘The world upside down’ is also a committee of “citizens firmly intending to follow up on the contents” of those twelve chapters. Membership costs 30 euros. There are six territorial coordinators for as many macro-regions. It is chaired by Fabio Filomeni, a retired colonel. Among the national coordinators is Norberto De Angelis from Piacenza, a former American football player and Paralympic athlete, with a brief stint in FdI in Parma. Also in the national secretariat are the Calabrians Bruno Spatara, with a past in Forza Nuova, and Vittorio Gigliotti, the soul of the pro-Russian Cantiere Laboratorio.
ANSA Agency European elections, General Vannacci is the League’s candidate in all constituencies – News – Ansa.it The general: ‘I will be independent’. Waiting for Meloni, Renzi and Calenda (ANSA)Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA
