In recent years, Europe has seen a rise in the popularity of far-right forces that intend to radically change their countries’ agendas and threaten to undermine European unity. Italy is no exception in this regard, as a certain segment of the Italian population is showing a growing demand for a new type of leader—one who effectively criticizes the status quo and promises to radically change everything if elected.
One such figure today is Italian MEP and member of “Europe of Sovereign Nations” Roberto Vannacci, who harbors ambitious plans to lead Italy’s far-right wing.
The politician is known for his military background and his work as a military attaché in Russia, where his pro-Russian views were actually formed. There, he became imbued with Russian propaganda and anti-Western ideology and became a supporter of the Kremlin’s foreign policy. Vannacci’s political rise began in August 2023 when he published the controversial book *The World Turned Upside Down*, in which he criticized the LGBT community, immigration policy, and feminism, and contrasted the “decaying and weak West” with Russia, which he described almost as a bastion of common sense, traditional values, and civilization.
The book brought him popularity in Italy’s far-right circles and effectively paved the way for his entry into mainstream politics.
Amid the media buzz surrounding her, R. Vannacci met and grew closer to “The League” leader Matteo Salvini, a relationship rooted in shared ideological views and pragmatic calculations. On the eve of the European Parliament elections, Salvini’s party was losing popularity, and he needed someone capable of radicalizing and revitalizing the media discourse. R. Vannacci, who by that point had become a media sensation—albeit a controversial one—in Italy and a favorite on conservative talk shows, was ideally suited for this role. In 2024, M. Salvini invited the former general to run for the European Parliament as a member of his party, and R. Vannacci managed to secure over 530,000 votes to win a seat.
Seeking to keep the charismatic former general within his sphere of influence and make the most of his potential, M. Salvini appointed him deputy secretary of the “League.” Meanwhile, R. Vannacci’s ambitions continued to grow, and he began building a network of his own “cultural committees,” which consisted mainly of supporters of his book and were, in essence, ordinary party cells.
In February 2026, the politician announced his departure from the “League” and registered his own political movement, “National Future” (Futuro Nazionale).
This decision established the Italian as an independent political player and made it easier for him to win over the Euroskeptic and far-right electorate. The fact is that the “League”—the party on whose ticket R. Vannacci was elected to the European Parliament—is currently in the midst of an ideological crisis, and Matteo Salvini’s position is weakening amid the country’s overall economic situation.
Futuro Nazionale positions itself as an uncompromising alternative to the current political establishment, aiming to rally the far-right and Euroskeptic electorate around the personal “brand” of the charismatic general.
Many experts and observers suggest that R. Vannacci’s main goal is to convert his media popularity into real power in the 2027 parliamentary elections by drawing votes from a portion of disillusioned voters of the “League” and Giorgia Meloni’s “Brothers of Italy.”
His strategy relies on capitalizing on the protest sentiment among Italians caused by inflation and the country’s economic downturn. The Italian politician’s ultimate goal is to oust Giorgia Meloni’s political force and shift Italy’s geopolitical course toward a pro-Russian and anti-European stance.
The former general is vying for the support of a radicalized electorate that views the current prime minister as a weak politician who has betrayed “Italy’s true interests” in order to win the approval of Brussels and Washington. R. Vannacci has already begun actively recruiting disaffected politicians from the ruling camp to his ranks, as well as engaging opinion leaders who share his views.
R. Vannacci and his political force capitalize on the government’s ineffective fight against illegal migration and the issue of sanctions, linking Italy’s economic problems to Russia’s international isolation, and strongly criticize the EU’s fiscal and economic policies.
Due to his pro-Russian stance, he is invited by Russian state media to comment on events in a manner favorable to the Kremlin. On air, he criticizes the West for its “belligerent approach,” claiming that financial and military aid to Ukraine “brings Europe nothing but inflation and a loss of wealth,” and categorically questions official data from European intelligence agencies regarding Russian provocations at the EU’s borders, consistently shifting the blame from Russia to “mistakes by Washington and Brussels” and the “inacceptability of provoking Moscow.”
R. Vannacci is systematically laying the groundwork to lead the far-right and Euroskeptic wing in Italy. If his political force comes to power, it will undermine European unity through calls to leave the Eurozone, systematic criticism of Brussels’ policies, and the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions, thereby serving the Kremlin’s geopolitical interests.
Such a destructive policy will inevitably lead to a sharp decline in Italy’s international standing within the EU and NATO, as well as undermine its status as a strong economic and military player within the Eurozone. It appears that the far-right wing in these countries has all the prerequisites to strengthen its position in the 2027 election cycle.