Italian former general starts far-right party in attack on PM Meloni, EU

In a packed auditorium steps from the Vatican, Roberto Vannacci – the former Italian army general known to supporters as ‘Il Generale’ – is rallying followers of his fledgling party, casting himself as an outsider while reshaping Italy’s right and challenging Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close ally of US President Donald Trump.Vannacci’s fast-rising “Futuro Nazionale” party is injecting new uncertainty into the conservative bloc that has underpinned Meloni’s government, exposing tensions ahead of the 2027 general election.The question, analysts say, is no longer whether Vannacci will influence the vote, but whether Meloni can contain, co-opt or outmanoeuvre a challenger carving out political space to her right.