The former deputy leader of the Italian League party says he will join the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group in the European Parliament.
Roberto Vannacci’s announcement on Tuesday came following his departure from the League earlier in February and his exit from the Patriots for Europe group, of which the League is a member.
“It is an honour.” I fully identify with the principles and ideals of this group,” Vannacci said of his move.
Despite League leader and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini ruling out any future alliance with Vannacci — denouncing him as a betrayer of his trust and saying he felt “disappointed and saddened” — parts of Italy’s centre-right coalition appear keen to keep channels open.
Senior figures within Brothers of Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, spoke publicly yesterday, while several League members privately acknowledged the potential strategic value of maintaining contact.
Vannacci’s broader strategy in joining the ESN is to build a political force positioned to the Right of both Italy’s and Europe’s mainstream Right, challenging those he views as overly opportunistic, excessively “Atlanticist”, or too closely aligned with EU institutions.
He accuses them of betraying their mandate primarily on two issues: The ineffective handling of migration and security, and the continued support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
At the same time, by maintaining lines of communication with them — and by lending or withdrawing his support as circumstances require — he hopes to steer their actions from the outside, pressuring them not to compromise too readily and to keep what he considers Italy’s and Europe’s interest at the centre of their agenda.
Formed after the 2024 elections, ESN is the European Parliament’s smallest political group with 25 MEPs. Its largest member is Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD), alongside nationalist parties from Poland, Bulgaria, France, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary and Lithuania.
The group positions itself to the Right of both the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Patriots for Europe, the other two major right-wing groups in the EP, taking a sovereignist and Eurosceptic stance.
Vannacci will join it with his newly founded party, Futuro Nazionale (National Future), a formation built around his leadership. In the Italian parliament, Futuro Nazionale includes three deputies: Two former League members and one former Brothers of Italy MP.
In Europe, though, no other League MEP has followed him.
German AfD MEP Tomasz Froelich welcomed Vannacci, describing his move as part of a “growing trend in Europe: The emergence of new right-wing parties when established parties shift too far to the centre and fail to keep promises to voters”.
Examples include the Restore Britain party, founded by former UK MP Rupert Lowe after leaving Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, and the Netherlands’ Forum for Democracy, which split from Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom and has nearly matched it in the polls.
Futuro Nazionale’s deputies in Italy recently opposed a decree authorising military aid to Ukraine but later supported the confidence vote tied to the same decree. Analysts see this as a tactical move: Publicly opposing the government while maintaining leverage to influence policy.
Froelich notes that such parties can act as a corrective for larger right-wing parties. “Right-wing parties should co-operate where possible, and of course Vannacci’s party can grow. Meloni herself was only at four per cent in 2019,” he said.
Senior figures in Brothers of Italy acknowledged yesterday Vannacci’s potential political weight within the centre-right coalition, partly contradicting Matteo Salvini by leaving the door open to possible future cooperation with Futuro Nazionale.
The “open” stance — articulated by Undersecretary Giovanbattista, a key Meloni allies — was described as a calculated move to assess Vannacci’s real impact on right-wing voters.
“The centre-right ran on a single programme,” Fazzolari said, stressing that it includes support for Ukraine. Vannacci’s party, he added, would have to align with that platform — a message widely seen as reflecting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s position.
The political message, party sources confirm, is clear: Cooperation with Vannacci would be possible — provided he accepts the government’s foreign policy line, particularly its continued support for Ukraine.
Even a small group loyal to Vannacci could be pivotal in the 2027 elections. Left-wing parties are trying to unite into a single large coalition against the Right in order to defeat Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition.
Futuro Nazionale currently polls around three per cent nationally, sometimes reaching 3.9 per cent to 4.2 per cent, drawing support mainly from Brothers of Italy and the League.
The broader centre-right coalition — including Brothers of Italy, the League, and Forza Italia — stands at about 46.6 per cent, while the centre-left bloc is around 30 per cent, struggling with internal disputes over leadership and a prime ministerial candidate.
Analysts note that Vannacci could syphon votes from the centre-right, potentially benefiting the Left.
It is above all for this reason that many within the coalition, despite the rupture, would rather have him as an ally than as an adversary.
