“Sembra che vogliamo perdere: subito un candidato anche con Vannacci”. Parla Santori (Lega)

Whilst at national level the Carroccio views Vannacci with suspicion, at local level there are those pushing for collaboration. “We need a united front with Futuro Nazionale to beat Roberto Gualtieri,” Fabrizio Santori, a Lega councillor on the Rome City Council, tells Il Foglio. In the background lies the centre-right’s long-standing delay in selecting a suitable candidate to put forward for mayor. “It seems, then, that behind this dithering lies a desire not to win. Many fear that an unknown figure or someone not up to the task might be put forward at the last minute. Five years ago, one might have thought that a centre-right mayor who mismanaged the city could have jeopardised the outcome of the national elections the following year. But now we must no longer be afraid,” says Santori. “We cannot keep wasting precious months. Let’s choose a strong and authoritative candidate together and get the campaign underway on the ground.” A name had emerged a few months ago from the Lega camp: Antonio Maria Rinaldi, currently the economic director for the party leader. The party leader could, in turn, put him forward as a ‘futurist’ candidate for the Campidoglio. But to win, says Santori, we need unity.

“As things stand, I understand that Fn is not part of the centre-right alliance. However, I hope that we can find common ground with Vannacci to secure victory; I wouldn’t see anything wrong with that. But before any alliances are formed, we need to sit down together to agree on a candidate, a manifesto and the mayoral candidates for the various municipalities”. It is a broad right-wing coalition aimed at defeating Gualtieri, who – thanks in part to support from his opponents (Azione and the M5S) – managed to beat the then centre-right candidate, Enrico Michetti, in the run-off. Would the coalition also work at national level? “I won’t comment on that.” And whilst the mayor is already on the campaign trail, the race to name candidates on the Rome right remains wide open. Within FdI, some are pointing to Fabio Rampelli, Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, but Santori has other ideas. “I’d like Simonetta Matone, but I don’t know if she’d agree,” says the League member. “She was a candidate for deputy mayor in 2021, and many were already wondering why on earth we hadn’t put her forward directly as mayor.” Matone, a Lega heavyweight and MP, would struggle to remain in a party riven by northern “rebels”: “I’m leaving. How can I explain to my constituents in Lazio that there’s one League speaking ill of the other? If I’m not needed, I’ll go home or find another party,” she told Il Foglio. A candidacy in Rome (perhaps with the general’s backing) could change things.