A new missile centre is opening in Fico’s Campania. “An embarrassing inconsistency,” says Presutto (formerly of the M5S).

In Campania, under the Five Star Movement’s leadership, a new state-of-the-art defence facility is being established by MBDA – a subsidiary of Leonardo and a world leader in complex weapon systems. “An embarrassing inconsistency,” comments Vincenzo Presutto, a Neapolitan accountant, to Il Foglio. He served as an M5S senator until 2022 and is now part of the fringe group of former Five Star Movement members who have been left in the lurch by Beppe Grillo. “The old M5S would have been flexible and pragmatic on rearmament,” the former MP asserts. Today’s paradox is clear: there is a Movement led by a leader, Giuseppe Conte, who, from the stage at the Nova event, says “no to rearmament and no to war-making shipyards and arsenals full of weapons”, whilst in the region led by a long-standing M5S figure such as Roberto Fico, on 30 September in Pomigliano d’Arco (Naples), the ribbon was cut at a brand-new technology hub specialised precisely in filling those very arsenals. The site, which aims to employ 1,000 people over the next five years, will focus on activities relating to the development of a complete weapon system, ceramic processing for missile radomes (the protective structure covering the antennas) and mechanical manufacturing.

No comment, however, from the governor. "He must have been embarrassed; I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes," jokes Presutto, who says he is not surprised that the former Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies did not protest in the slightest against the new arms hub ‘made in Campania’. “Fico is politically powerless. He has no political room for manoeuvre in this situation, and would have struggled to oppose it given the alliances and compromises he has made.” His deputy in the regional government, the Democrat Mario Casillo, was present at the factory’s inauguration. “MBDA is a cutting-edge organisation from a technological point of view. Organisations like this prevent the brain drain. Defence companies offer plenty of opportunities for growth,” he said. He also told Il Foglio that “we need to sit down and see if there is a possibility of establishing a partnership to transfer certain military technologies to the civilian sector”. Even with financial support from the region? “We’ll assess that after we’ve had a discussion.” Words that might raise eyebrows amongst several members of the PD, let alone those of the M5S. It is no coincidence that one of them, MP Dario Carotenuto, commented on the opening of the missile centre in Pomigliano: “I’d like to see a Campania free of weapons,” he told Corriere del Mezzogiorno. “Saying ‘no’ to rearmament is crass populism. There is a war in Ukraine; we must be wary of anti-European pressures coming from Russia and China,” says the former Five Star Movement member. “So what is the best way to defend ourselves? To become a little stronger, even from a military point of view.” For Presutto, the Pomigliano issue highlights “an embarrassing inconsistency” within the party, and perhaps even across the entire coalition. “The left – or what passes for it – is leaving the field open to Meloni, who is at least consistent, and for that very reason she will win again. I say this as someone who is not on the right.” 

On X, Gennaro Sangiuliano gloats: “In Rome, Giuseppe Conte rails against weapons; in Campania, Roberto Fico supports the opening of a missile factory. ‘Well done, Fico,’ writes the Campania councillor. Meanwhile, over 90 per cent of M5S members have said they are opposed to both the European rearmament plan and increased defence spending: positions that will need to carry weight in the broad coalition’s programme. If this is not the case, Conte has already warned that he will return to teaching at university and reopen a law firm. Presutto, now distanced from the M5S, dreams of opening the ballot paper and finding a new party led by Grillo. “If only!”, he exclaims at the mere thought. “Before Conte, there was a genuine debate within the party, at both local and national levels,” recalls the former senator. Today, however, there is a pseudo-democratic participation that is entirely controlled by Conte. That is why a Grillo-led party would be a godsend for everyone, and it could be liberal and even pragmatic on rearmament.”