The government’s first steps regarding Vannacci: a resolution against Islam in schools

First they snarl at each other, then they sniff each other out, and finally, discreetly, they come together. The Vannaccians, with the Stabilicum bill in the pipeline, risk becoming the Meloni government’s secret love affair. The boorish lover – whom we would never bring into the house – but who is nevertheless needed, at times, to liven things up. And so here is Rossano Sasso, the former League MP and now a Vannaccian, who just last Wednesday rang the doorbell at the ministry on Viale Trastevere. The Futuro Nazionale representative who spoke directly with Valditara’s department. Together, the government and the Futurists are in fact considering a possible first step. A small step within the broad but firmly right-wing camp that is now taking shape in a resolution. 

A resolution on educational matters, therefore, aimed at combating Islamisation. Sasso, after all, is the leader of the Fn group on the Culture, Science and Education Committee. He is held in high regard by the minister, who is a member of the Lega, and together with his colleagues he is working on measures to counter Ramadan and the presence of mosques in schools.

Well, the drafting of the text, as confirmed to Il Foglio, is currently underway. It will involve all the majority parties and incorporate Vannaccia’s amendment “against the creeping influence of Islam in classrooms”. Government of the Future? A summer fling? What is certain is that there is certainly plenty of movement. This is also being leaked from within Fratelli d’Italia, with clear reference to Giovanni Donzelli, the Meloni loyalist who, shortly after the Instagrammed vote on the Bignami amendment, is said to have softened his stance (“I listen to General Vannacci,” he told us not long ago, “and some of the things he says aren’t wrong”).

Meanwhile, however – and still on the subject of amendments – Edoardo Ziello has struck a blow against Minister Carlo Nordio. The former number two in the Lega is contesting the launch of the preliminary investigation into the pardon for jeweller Mario Roggero: a long ordeal, he says, which could have been avoided had his amendment simply been accepted. Namely, the amendment to the latest security decree which would have provided for “moving beyond the concept of proportionality between defence and offence” and averted “the hypocrisy of the centre-right”.

A stroll in the sunshine along Via Arenula, a meeting in the shade on Viale Trastevere. In a game that the Futurists themselves describe, without wishing to expose themselves, as ‘a game of cat and mouse’ with the government.

On the other hand, however, they confirm and somewhat qualify this. There will be a resolution, yes, but on sensitive issues that are deeply felt by the entire majority. A resolution with the Futurists on the issues that Sasso had already raised when he was a member of the Lega, issues to which the ministry had objected more recently – given that “there are just 7 cases of Islamisation out of 7,000” – but which, as it happens, are being listened to right now. In the wake of the law passed in the Chamber of Deputies with the majority bonus set at 42 per cent. That is to say, at a time when even the ‘dirty dozen’ is once again proving tempting to the Brothers and the government.

On Wednesday – so as not to miss a thing – the Minister of Education had already responded to Sasso regarding the secondary school in Cesena, on whose façade a banner reading ‘Italy for Italians’ had been displayed. ‘There is nothing objectionable about the statement,’ said one. ‘Long live Valditara,’ said the other.

What we know so far is that there will be a follow-up to the Melonellum. It will focus on tackling the presence of imams in schools and prayer spaces, and then on the importance of ‘informed consent from families’ regarding religious matters.

On 3 July, the MP had asked: “Will the Minister and Under-Secretary Frassinetti – that is, the League and Brothers of Italy – approve my resolution? Yes or No?” There you have it. Even if the answer isn’t a permanent ‘Yes’, one thing is certain: following the vote on 14 July and the ‘Melonellum’ revolution, the winds of restoration are now blowing. The Vannacciani, former government supporters, are back in talks with the executive. Quietly, on the sly, within Fratelli d’Italia they feign disdain but long for it… Even if perhaps it is merely a summer mirage. A door left ajar. A bit like the wife on holiday and the lover back in town.