Fratelli d’Italia voters would like Vannacci in the coalition. The poll

53 per cent of Fratelli d’Italia voters want Roberto Vannacci to be part of the centre-right coalition. Among Lega and Forza Italia supporters, the figure stands at 26 per cent – almost half of Meloni’s supporters. For their part, 61 per cent of Vannacci’s supporters would like to stand alongside the centre-right parties. The YouTrend figures presented by Ludovica Ciriello on “L’aria che tira” paint a picture of a coalition that is already divided over the guest even before inviting him.

Renato Mannheimer distinguishes between the two forms of rejection. The voters who have remained with the League, he says, are extremely angry: they have seen the party lose support just as Futuro Nazionale was rising above 7 per cent. Forza Italia, on the other hand, emphasises its moderate nature, which has already stood out from its allies in the past. Hence the risk for Meloni: whilst the party’s expansion might attract votes from the general electorate, it could also see others drift away.

The most interesting passage, however, concerns Fratelli d’Italia itself. Mannheimer notes a shift towards more extreme positions and a significant proportion of the electorate that identifies as ‘far right’. Italy’s leading party thus discovers that it harbours a section of the electorate that the general is counting on and would like to see as a close ally. It remains to be seen what Giorgia Meloni will decide to do.