As Giorgia Meloni heads towards the end of what has become one of Italy’s longest-lasting governments in decades, the biggest threat to her political dominance is no longer coming from the centrist opposition. It is emerging on the nationalist right.

With a general election expected in 2027, Meloni has spent much of her premiership transforming herself from a nationalist firebrand into a mainstream European leader. But that balancing act has created an opening for critics who argue she has compromised too much.

As Meloni seeks to defend her record, one man is making the case that she no longer represents Italy’s nationalist right. General Roberto Vannacci has emerged as the most disruptive force on the political scene, accusing Meloni of abandoning the uncompromising agenda that brought her to power.

Speaking to Euractiv, Vannacci portrayed his movement as one of the last uncompromising defenders of national sovereignty. “We are the only ones who still defend sovereignty without hesitation.”

“We are like the Dirty Dozen,” he added, invoking the 1967 war film about a group of military outcasts sent on a near-impossible mission. “We are people rejected by the system, but precisely because of that capable of changing it.”

During his military career, Vannacci served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he commanded elite units of the Folgore Parachute Brigade. After retiring from combat positions in 2020, he served as defence attaché at the Italian Embassy in Moscow.

Fiercely anti-EU, sceptical of military support for Ukraine and openly critical of what he calls the “normalisation” of Europe’s conservative parties, Vannacci is betting that voters who once propelled Meloni into government now believe she has become part of the establishment.

Vannacci presents himself as one of Europe’s last remaining “authentic” right-wing politicians, attacking what he considers mainstream conservative parties across Europe – including Meloni and Jordan Bardella, the president of the French National Rally – which he says have become a “watered-down right”.

His newly launched movement, Futuro Nazionale, is currently polling above 5%, ahead of the hard-right populist Lega and edging closer to the centrist Forza Italia. That is making him an increasingly uncomfortable headache for Meloni as the countdown to the next election begins.

The Italian MEP suggested that the future of the prime minister will eventually depend on his political movement. “Meloni will need the Italians who want real change,” he said. “Today, that space is us.”

Since February, Vannacci has sat with Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), the parliamentary group that includes Germany’s Alternative for Germany.

Asked whether he’d strike an alliance with Meloni after the elections, Vannacci replied that he had “never spoken about pacts”.

“I’ve always said Futuro Nazionale is the natural interlocutor of the centre-right,” he said. “But we won’t move one millimetre from our principles in Italy and in Europe.”

According to Vannacci, Meloni’s government has failed to deliver on its key promises, pointing to her failure to deliver crucial constitutional and justice reforms.

His criticism also extended to his former party, Lega. Asked whether deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini’s political cycle was coming to an end, Vannacci declined to comment directly. “I don’t like commenting on the internal affairs of parties I no longer belong to,” he said.“I wish them well, but the numbers tell a different story.”

Vannacci also slammed his former political opponents in the Patriots group, including Bardella.

“The normalisation process pushed by the RN in France won’t work,” he said. “I still hope they will win the next French elections, but I have my doubts. Right-wing forces must remain true to their identity, not dilute themselves.”

Vannacci described Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission as a failure. “Europe is less stable, less rich and less productive than before,” he said, blaming the Green Deal for higher energy prices and weaker industrial competitiveness.

On the approach that the EU is taking on Ukraine, Vannacci argued that “the real loser is Europe”.

“For four years Europe has followed exactly the same strategy,” he said. “The results are there for everyone to see.”

He argued that the EU has become more dependent on the United States, pays higher energy prices, and spends “€80–90 billion” supporting Ukraine instead of investing in healthcare, jobs and internal security.

Migration remains at the heart of his political platform. Vannacci has fully embraced the concept of “remigration,” framing it as more than a policy of returning migrants. “Remigration is not only about returns,” he said. “It is about the right of native peoples to defend their civilisation and their culture against exogenous groups.”

“We want Italians to live in Italy, just as we want every country to remain the home of its native people,” he said.

(bw, aw)