The Rampelli mystery: the natural rival to Gualtieri who is giving Meloni a hard time

 Summer has come and gone, and the centre-right still does not have even the vaguest idea of who will stand against Roberto Gualtieri in the 2027 mayoral race. The matter is not even being discussed; the issue is being ignored. Yet the natural candidate has been there, ready for the challenge for at least five years now. We are, of course, talking about Fabio Rampelli, the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who has maintained a passion for Rome worthy of the most zealous councillor on the Capitoline Assembly. Questions regarding chats between councillors and municipal advisers on squatting in the city, parliamentary questions on the cypress trees felled at the Mausoleum of Augustus or on the Bulgari hotel in the same square, ‘sold off by the State Property Office to the Benettons’…Rampelli presides over Italy from the Chamber of Deputies at Montecitorio, but his heart remains firmly within the boundaries of the Grande Raccordo Anulare or just beyond it, in those vast expanses of urban sprawl that mark the very outer limits of the municipality of Rome.

But with less than a year to go before the election, the centre-right – and above all FdI, the party that leads the centre-right – has still not chosen a candidate. The electoral law, whether or not there will be a run-off, the energy crisis: Giorgia Meloni has other things on her mind. But, as we know, the decision on candidates in the major cities up for election – alongside the capital, these include Milan, Naples, Bologna and Turin – will be made by the leaders’ committee. There is consternation amongst the city councillors: “Everything is centralised; we’ll be without a candidate for at least another two months.”

However, the issue is not merely one of agenda. The veto on Rampelli’s candidacy appears to be driven by something more: a tribal, primitive, pre-political resentment; a stubbornness capable of overriding all common sense and rational logic that would otherwise make him the right man in the right place. Rampelli, in fact, was the charismatic leader of the MSI branch in Colle Oppio at the start of the Meloni sisters’ bohemian political careers. He was the ‘father’ of those ‘seagulls’ who were once known as Giorgia and Arianna Meloni, Francesco Lollobrigida, Giovanabattista Fazzolaria and so on. Precisely because he is the political father of the current ruling class, however, he is at best feared and at worst despised. The Meloni sisters—the Prime Minister and the leader of FdI—appear to struggle to imagine him as their candidate for the Palazzo Senatorio. Yet it is precisely because of this deep-seated aversion that choosing him would be, in a cynical sense, the most logical move. Not as a reward, but rather as a way of ridding themselves of him, leaving him to face a highly probable honourable defeat and the role of leader of the opposition in the Capitoline Assembly. He, out of pride and for the sake of his legacy, would not refuse. But in Rampelli’s candidacy, the ‘Sisters of Italy’ see something other than this highly probable scenario. They picture a stage: the spotlights, the limelight focused on the candidate in Rome. Unthinkable. Yet the alternatives ought to worry them far more. Without Rampelli, in fact, the only other heavyweight name that FdI can field is that of Arianna Meloni. Yet can the sisters really afford to risk a crushing defeat in Rome for the sake of the Meloni name? Only a simultaneous national victory would make up for it. Perhaps that is why some within the party have recently even been considering holding local and general elections on the same day in the spring. Another rather irrational scenario, given the strength of the centre-left in the major cities.

The third option involves a moderate candidate, such as the Christian Democrat Luciano Ciocchetti. But with a profile like that, Roberto Vannacci – who is also still searching for a candidate for the capital – would have an easy time of it in securing all the votes of Rome’s still-numerous right-wing identitarian electorate. Rampelli, on the other hand, would be able to capture those votes. What’s more, former mayor Gianni Alemanno – whom Vannacci embraced upon his release from Rebibbia prison – said it straight away: “With Futuro Nazionale, we’re looking for a competitive candidate for Rome, but it’s obvious that the natural choice is Fabio Rampelli.” Rampelli joked about it: “Alemanno wanted to upstage me.” A quip with a grain of truth, given that at local council level, as at national level – at least for now – Meloni’s intention is to keep the general outside the coalition’s sphere of influence. But precisely for this reason, if Rome is to lose – but at least do so with dignity – a candidate is needed who can prevent the general from snatching up all those right-wing votes currently wavering between FdI, UGL and the Lega. Not least because, as those who navigate the murky waters of Rome’s right-wing scene with confidence assure us: Alemanno has already found a consortium of small business owners who have always been close to the right-wing sphere, ready to back the General’s bid for the capital. In short, the right name is always the same: Rampelli. And yet, for FdI, Fabio is not just a name – he is a mystery.