Roberto Vannacci

He commanded paratrooper units and served abroad, and has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2024, elected on the Lega list. He left the Lega in February 2026 and founded Futuro Nazionale, which he leads. He is named as a possible Prime Minister of Italy in the next general election.

Career

Vannacci served in the Italian Army from 1986, retiring as a divisional general in 2025. He commanded the 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment and the Folgore Paratroopers Brigade, and was deployed to Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. In 2023 he self-published the book Il mondo al contrario. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2024 on the Lega list, taking the second-largest personal vote in Italy. On 3 February 2026 he left the Lega, and on 6 February 2026 he founded Futuro Nazionale (National Future), of which he is president.

Positions

Wikipedia describes Vannacci as a far-right politician with controversial positions on immigration, abortion, disability inclusion and fascism. Press reports on his departure from the Lega call Futuro Nazionale a far-right project, and cite his encouragement of some Lega deputies to vote against a parliamentary resolution on Ukraine, against the party line, as one point of friction with Matteo Salvini. His book contains statements on migrants, minorities and gay people that the Defence Ministry and the press have criticised.

Controversies

In August 2023 Vannacci published Il mondo al contrario. In February 2024 the Defence Ministry, after a disciplinary procedure, suspended him from duty for 11 months with half pay, citing damage to the prestige of the armed forces; ANSA reported that he was also under investigation by Rome prosecutors for suspected incitement to hatred over the book. A Lazio administrative court later rejected his appeal against the suspension, according to Unione Sarda. A complaint for defamation by athlete Paola Egonu was dismissed, according to Wikipedia.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · ANSA · Unione Sarda · The Local Italy

Photo: European Union, European Parliament, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)