In Calabria, Vannacci takes Forza Italia by surprise

Roberto Vannacci had promised to stand in the by-elections in Reggio Calabria to unsettle Forza Italia. He went a step further: he took their group leader in the Regional Council away from them. Domenico Giannetta, a former Forza Italia MP, will in fact be the Futuro Nazionale candidate in the constituency vacated by Francesco Cannizzaro.

Giannetta is serving her fourth term in the regional parliament; in 2021 she received over ten thousand votes and, until a few hours ago, was leading the Forza Italia group. Futuro Nazionale’s first election campaign under its own banner thus begins with a poaching from the Forza Italia camp.

Roberto Occhiuto’s reaction highlights the rift: “As of now, Domenico Giannetta is out of the centre-right majority in the Calabria Regional Government. My regional government has nothing in common with those who support Roberto Vannacci.” And to the general: “Don’t get too big for your boots.”

The contest also involves the national Forza Italia party. The party is defending its seat by backing Fabio Roscioli, the party’s national administrator, a long-standing lawyer for Fininvest and a trusted confidant of the Berlusconi family. Vannacci has chosen to challenge them by drawing directly from their own leadership. He has described FI’s politics as “stale and self-serving”. Occhiuto gave him a taste of his own medicine: on 28 September, we shall see “which party will be the winner and which the stale one”. Even before the votes are counted, however, one outcome is clear: Vannacci has opened a rift within the right by poaching one of Forza Italia’s most high-profile figures.