Italian Political Challenge
New Party's Surge Threatens Meloni, Forces Prime Minister to Respond
A new far-right party in Italy has pulled even with one of the country's most powerful coalition members — and it is only four months old. El Periódico reports that Futuro Nazionale, led by former general and ex-MEP Roberto Vannacci, has reached 5.9% in recent polls, matching or surpassing Matteo Salvini's Lega at 5.3%. The surge has forced Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to break her long silence and speak out against the man she once ignored.
Vannacci left the Lega in February 2026, calling his departure a matter of principle. Salvini, who had personally recruited him and made him Deputy Secretary of the party, called it a betrayal. Now, with a general election looming in 2027, the split threatens the stability of Meloni's governing coalition.
How a Controversial General Built a Political Movement
Vannacci first made national headlines in August 2023 when he self-published a book called "Il mondo al contrario" (The World Upside Down). It sold over 100,000 copies in weeks. The book triggered a military disciplinary review but turned Vannacci into a hero of the radical right.
Salvini saw an opportunity. He put Vannacci on the Lega's ticket for the 2024 European Parliament elections. Vannacci won over 530,000 preference votes — the second-highest individual total in all of Italy. Salvini then made him Deputy Secretary of the party in May 2025, hoping to keep him close. Instead, Vannacci used that platform to build his own brand. On February 6, 2026, he walked out and registered Futuro Nazionale.
Vannacci's Party Reaches Parity With Salvini's Lega
Polls from SWG and YouTrend, published on June 18–19, 2026, show Futuro Nazionale at 5.3%–5.9%. The Lega sits at the same level or below. This is the first time since the 2022 general election that a rival has caught up to Salvini's party on the right. Fratelli d'Italia, Meloni's own party, has slipped from 31.1% in January to 27.9% — a sign that the entire right-wing bloc is under pressure.
Eight deputies have already defected to Vannacci, including former Lega members Domenico Furgiuele and Gianangelo Bof, and former Forza Italia deputy Attilio Pierro. Meloni's office noted that these defectors voted against the government on six key confidence motions, siding with the opposition. Meloni called the new party "functional to the left" — a serious insult in Italian coalition politics.
Vannacci's Hard-Line Platform Targets Meloni's Base
Futuro Nazionale is pitching itself as the "real right." Its program includes mass deportation of undocumented migrants — what Vannacci calls "remigration" — opposition to the EU Green Deal, and the abolition of femicide as a separate criminal category. Vannacci framed the choice in stark terms: "Either with us, the guardians of sovereignty and citizenship, or with Von der Leyen, Draghi, multinationals, and globalism," according to LNE.
This message targets voters Meloni has lost as she moved toward a more mainstream conservative stance to keep good relations with the EU and financial markets. Analysts say Vannacci has filled the vacuum that Meloni's "moderate pivot" created. Salvini, furious, told supporters: "We believed that as a former military man, he would have a sense of honor."
Meloni's Coalition Faces Its Biggest Test Before 2027
Political analyst Salvatore Merlo of Il Foglio argues that the polls are being used as a "tool of government" inside the Lega. Senior Lega figures like Luca Zaia and Massimiliano Fedriga are pointing to Vannacci's rise to justify replacing Salvini as party leader. If Salvini falls, Meloni loses her most important coalition partner at a critical moment.
The stakes could not be higher. If Futuro Nazionale climbs to 7%–8%, analysts warn Vannacci may try to trigger a government crisis and force early elections while his momentum peaks. Meloni faces a near-impossible choice: move right to compete with Vannacci and risk losing the center, or hold her current position and watch her coalition's right flank bleed out, according to Diario de Mallorca.
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