The former general and leader of Futuro Nazionale, Roberto Vannacci, would be the “Trojan horse” of Russia in Italy. This is the definition given by the Financial Times, in an article where the London daily states that Vannacci is testing the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, by intercepting “the pro-Russian sympathies of Italians ahead of next year’s political elections.”
The FT starts from the moment when Vannacci, “bare-chested and wearing a pendant shaped like a double axe associated with the neo-fascist organization Ordine Nuovo,” this summer called to stop supplying weapons and money to Ukraine, questioning Meloni’s foreign policy. “His Kremlin-aligned positions risk complicating Meloni’s re-election campaign, leveraging the deep currents of pacifism, economic discontent, and sympathy for Moscow present in Italy,” writes the Financial Times, which also notes that some analysts suspect that behind Vannacci’s rise “there is Russian influence, especially after Meloni forced Salvini – once a fervent admirer of Vladimir Putin – to align with her support for Kiev.”
In the article, moreover, Vannacci’s affinity for Russia is linked to his assignment in Moscow as an Italian military attaché at the beginning of 2021, after a career as a paratrooper abroad, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to John Foreman, former British military attaché in Russia who met him in Moscow, Vannacci was an affable man who did not consider Russia a security threat: “He was the typical Italian military man who thinks we should not have a clash with Russia, that Russia should be a partner,” Foreman told the FT.
“I hope it is false,” limited the comment of the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. However, Vannacci himself responded to the London City daily: “They are terrified. Merz wants to drag Germany into a ‘state of war’ against Russia just as the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt prepares to deal a political blow to the CDU. For me, the suspicion is legitimate: raising the level of external confrontation becomes a way to divert attention from what is inside the house. And maybe, tomorrow, even to question what comes out of the ballot boxes. BlackRock-style coup?” writes the general on Facebook, who accompanies the post with an AI-generated photo depicting him holding a pack of Imodium. “Meanwhile, the Financial Times, an expression of those financial circles and that international establishment that has always claimed to explain to Europeans what they must think, suddenly discovers that in Italy there would be the ‘Trojan Horse of Russia.’ Guess who? Vannacci.”
“Judging by the headlines, the stomach ache has just begun – he continues -. Without a shred of concrete evidence of orders received from Moscow, secret funding, or clandestine relations. Political positions not aligned on the war in Ukraine and a rise in the polls are enough to turn a political opponent into a suspected Kremlin agent. When I ironically called Marianna Aprile ‘Trojan Horse,’ all hell broke loose: sexist, misogynistic, unworthy, grounds for complaint. Today the Financial Times can use the same expression against me and suddenly no one is scandalized. But the real point is another.” “In Germany, they fear the AfD. In Italy, they fear Futuro Nazionale. And when popular support does not go in the desired direction, the same record always plays: Russia. Putin. Danger. Destabilization. Betrayal. Ideas are no longer refuted. They are demonized – concludes Vannacci -. Support is not fought politically. They try to delegitimize it. And judging by some headlines, the stomach ache must be really strong. From tomorrow Imodium for everyone. For the most serious cases, it might not work.”
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