Politics
The interview •
Vannacci’s deputy, Simoni: “Salvini is past his best. Him joining us at Fn? We’re not ruling anyone out!”
The coordinator of Futuro Nazionale: “The Carroccio leader wouldn’t stand a chance of being elected with us. But he’ll go down in the general election; he’s now on a par with Renzi. The Lega is facing an irreversible crisis; with us, it’s merely a ‘marriage of convenience’. If Giorgia Meloni wants to win, she’ll inevitably have to reach an agreement with us”
Roberto Vannacci and Massimiliano Simoni – photo: LaPresse
“Salvini in Futuro Nazionale? Well, we don’t rule anyone out, but he wouldn’t stand a chance of being elected!” This is what Massimiliano Simoni, national coordinator of the Futurists and Roberto Vannacci’s second-in-command, tells "Il Foglio". A regional councillor in Tuscany (elected with the Lega but having come up through AN), he has always been the General’s right-hand man. And in an interview with our newspaper, he comments on the implosion the Carroccio has been undergoing for several weeks. Salvini has been backed into a corner, protected by a host of loyalists. But: “His time is up. The League is facing a crisis that is now irreversible.” Simoni draws a comparison with the other Matteo: “It’s like Renzi – the Italians’ trust is gone and can never be regained.”
Following the release of Fontana
Just like last August, this August is proving anything but relaxing for Salvini. But according to Simoni, “he won’t back down”; on the contrary: “Matteo will go down with the ship in the 2027 general election, not least because – let’s be honest – I don’t see any real national leaders on the horizon within the League”. There’s Zaia. “He’s the best of the lot, but he could never be elected in central and southern Italy; he’s incomprehensible even in terms of ‘language’.” Vannacci’s arrival, and his appointment as deputy secretary, according to Simoni, have merely “prolonged the agony” of a party that seems to be gradually falling apart. Yet this has, in fact, contributed to the very success of the FN. Give credit where credit is due: “Ours was merely a ‘marriage of convenience’,” Simoni plays down. “We gave Salvini and the Lega the votes they needed to survive (and to get Susanna Ceccardi elected undeservedly by us in Tuscany),” whilst “Salvini gave us a place on the list, which then resulted in Vannacci standing as a candidate in five different constituencies, precisely to reinforce the idea of ‘stretching the lists’ as far as possible.”
All eyes are on next year’s elections, in 2027, and just as on the left, so too on the right, the question of alliances is a key issue. The current centre-right does not yet seem ready to welcome the Futurists into its ranks, just as the Futurists do not seem ready to bow down to the centre-right. But you cannot win on your own: “No one wins on their own! But no steps forward have been taken towards forming a coalition together; ‘Futuro Nazionale’ continues to be underestimated,” says Simoni. The main objections to Fn joining the coalition come from the Lega itself, but the national coordinator goes on to explain: “I believe the Carroccio has plenty to worry about itself, and I also believe that, as the elections approach, its share of the vote is too small to allow it to call the shots.” For this reason, he adds: "Giorgia Meloni, knowing her well, will ultimately look at the substance of the matter, and if she wants to win, she will inevitably have to reach an agreement with us."
But there are many obstacles, and the rift between the centre-right and Futuro Nazionale lies precisely in the gap between what was promised whilst in opposition and what has not been delivered whilst in government: “The centre-right has not found the courage to do what it has been saying for years it would do on security, social issues, the family, healthcare and small businesses. Once it reached the inner circles of power, it set the table and sat down, simply going along with the agenda,” says Simoni. He also criticises the ruling elite: “It has sacrificed the best of the ruling elite to promote nothing but yes-men.”
At the heart of Futuro Nazionale’s proposal, which arrived last week after months of anticipation, is the B.I.P, the party’s programme. It focuses on remigration and security, but also covers Russia, the birth rate and disarmament. The economic provisions have been described by many commentators as somewhat ‘weak’, and the proposals are recycled from the centre-right’s election manifestos. In his rebuttal, Simoni also brings up the Laffer curve (an economic model illustrating the relationship between tax rates and government revenue): “This teaches us that when the tax burden is excessive, government revenue falls. Italy is among the countries with the highest effective tax burden in the world. By lowering taxes, we will boost employment, productivity and tax revenue,” he says. A lesson in economics. He adds: “It is therefore surreal that the other political parties – who devised the Superbonus and provided millions of euros’ worth of weapons to Kyiv – should come and tell us that we cannot find the money.”
But the Futurists’ ‘crowning achievement’ remains remigration, outlined in the programme through no fewer than twenty-two measures. “Today, remigration policies are not being implemented because there is no political will. Just consider that the Foreign Secretary, who should be responsible for agreements with countries of origin, belongs to the most pro-immigration party in the coalition,” says Simoni. The Salvini-style approach remains the same, but the wording has changed. The first, minor, election is in Calabria on 26–28 September for the by-election to the Chamber of Deputies. Audaces fortuna iuvat.
