Italy’s Meloni faces a far-right dilemma as 'Il Generale' Vannacci rises

ROME (AP) — In a packed auditorium steps from the Vatican, Roberto Vannacci — the former Italian army general known to supporters as “Il Generale” — is rallying followers of his fledgling party, casting himself as an outsider while reshaping Italy’s right and challenging Premier Giorgia Meloni.

Vannacci’s fast-rising “Futuro Nazionale” party is injecting new uncertainty into the conservative bloc that has underpinned Meloni’s government, exposing tensions ahead of the 2027 general election.

The question, analysts say, is no longer whether Vannacci will influence the vote, but whether Meloni can contain, co-opt or outmaneuver a challenger carving out political space to her right.

The emergence of a rival on Meloni’s right could also test the stability of her government and threaten the more moderate, pro-European approach the premier has so far adopted in office.

Vannacci’s rise comes as far-right and nationalist parties gain ground across Europe, reshaping the political landscape and focusing on polarizing issues like migration and security.

“With us, Italy will once again be the home of Italians,” Vannacci said at his party’s founding assembly this weekend in Rome, “Everyone must feel safe in their own home.”

He proudly described his core lawmakers as the “dirty dozen,” stressing his outsider role.

Vannacci, 57, emerged politically with his 2023 self-published book “Il mondo al contrario” (The World Upside Down), which drew controversy for harsh attacks on LGBTQ+ people, migrants and minorities.

He entered politics a year later with Matteo Salvini ’s anti-migration League, winning more than 530,000 preferences in European Parliament elections. He left the League in February to launch his Futuro Nazionale, a break Salvini called a “betrayal.”

Since then, Vannacci has consolidated support. The party says it has surpassed 100,000 members and now has eight deputies, including defectors from the League and centrist Forza Italia, underscoring unease within Meloni’s coalition.

He rejects the traditional “far-right” label, calling his movement the “real right,” and has accused Meloni of failing to turn shared priorities into policies. He's for now ruling out a possible alliance.

Vannacci platform centers on hard-line positions on security and migration, including calls for the “remigration” of foreigners he considers not integrated; opposition to EU policies such as the Green Deal; and criticism of Western sanctions on Russia.

Analysts say Vannacci's rise in Italy reflects a political and cultural shift.

“He is commanding a sort of political raid for hard-right votes within the main parties of the coalition,” said Massimiliano Panarari, politics professor at University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. “Meloni’s strategy was to have no one to her right. Now she does.”

Panarari described Vannacci as “an entrepreneur of fear,” whose rhetoric pushes themes that Meloni can no longer openly embrace in government, like openly anti-gay and anti-feminist positions.

Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and polling expert at YouTrend, said the development introduces “something new — an opposition from the right to the current government.”

“Now there is a force outside the majority that challenges it on popular issues like migration, security and culture wars,” he noted.

That shift carries electoral weight. Polls put Vannacci's Futuro Nazionale at around 4% to nearly 5%, a potentially decisive share with Italy’s main center-right and center-left blocs closely matched.

“They could be the difference between finishing ahead or behind,” Pregliasco said, describing Vannacci as a potential “wild card.”

For Meloni, the dilemma is strategic.

“In terms of political debate, he introduces instability on the right,” Pregliasco said. “She and her allies must decide whether to absorb him into the coalition — but that would create problems.”

Addressing parliament earlier this week, Meloni accused Vannacci-aligned lawmakers of undermining the government and favoring the left, while her Brothers of Italy party and centrist allies have ruled out electoral agreements.

For now, Meloni has avoided direct confrontation, a strategy seen as both calculation and a bet that Vannacci’s momentum may fade.

“The issue is what to do with this loose cannon of Vannacci, which could drag the right back toward the far right,” Panarari said.

“I’m not sure it would benefit Meloni to shift further right before general elections. Her approach will likely be marked by ambiguity and ambivalence, as long as possible."

EU Parliament member and former Italian army general Roberto Vannacci speaks during a press conference as he concludes the two-day founding congress of his far-right party, Futuro Nazionale (National Future) in Rome, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

EU Parliament member and former Italian army general Roberto Vannacci addresses the audience as he concludes the two-day founding congress of his far-right party, Futuro Nazionale (National Future) in Rome, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

EU Parliament member and former Italian army general Roberto Vannacci pauses during a press conference as he concludes the two-day founding congress of his far-right party, Futuro Nazionale (National Future) in Rome, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

EU Parliament member and former Italian army general Roberto Vannacci speaks during a press conference as he concludes the two-day founding congress of his far-right party, Futuro Nazionale (National Future) in Rome, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

EU Parliament member and former Italian army general Roberto Vannacci addresses the audience as he concludes the two-day founding congress of his far-right party, Futuro Nazionale (National Future) in Rome, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 73,000, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday, despite a fragile ceasefire that has been described as stalled.

Israel has continued to strike inside the territory despite the deal reached in October, saying it carries out strikes against Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce.

Confirmation of the latest Palestinian toll came from Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry’s records department, and Hamza Salem from the ministry’s public relations department.

The number of deaths since the beginning of the war is now 73,001. On Sunday, the ministry said, there were five deaths: two in the southern city of Khan Younis and one in central Gaza, in addition to two who died of earlier wounds.

Over 173,200 people have been wounded since the start of the war, which was ignited by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. That attack killed some 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage.

The health ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.

The U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal reached in October ended full-scale military operations and led to the return of all the remaining hostages.

But other elements of the deal have stalled as Hamas has refused to disarm and Israeli troops have advanced in Gaza, rather than withdrawn. Both sides accuse the other of violating the agreement but say it is still in effect.

Progress on all other issues — including reconstruction, Israeli troop withdrawals and the establishment of a new Palestinian government — is being held up by the deadlock over disarming Hamas, the top diplomat overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, has said.

The war displaced most of the Palestinian population of over 2 million, left large parts of the territory in rubble and created widespread shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies as the border crossings with Gaza — all but one controlled by Israel — slammed shut.

Magdy reported from Cairo.

Palestinians clear the rubble of a building that was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, at al-Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)