Futuro Nazionale, the party founded by Italian general Roberto Vannacci, is facing a combination of lower polling figures and departures among local representatives. Vannacci has dismissed the polling as unreliable and says the party’s membership continues to grow, averaging 1,000 new members a week and recently reaching 160,000.
Polls cited in the report show support falling from 8.8% to 7.9% in an Ipsos Doxa survey for Corriere della Sera, and from 7.8% to 7% in Youtrend figures. Vannacci said polling agencies were not representing reality, adding that he had made the same criticism when the numbers were rising.
In Frosinone, provincial coordinator Antonio Scaccia and the entire local leadership have left Futuro Nazionale. Their decision followed a failed effort to bring down the centre-right administration led by Mayor Riccardo Mastrangeli. The departing group said the city’s governability had to take priority.
Further resignations have been reported in Calabria and the Polesine area. Five representatives in Calabria cited top-down decisions, limited participation and distance from local communities, as well as disagreement with what they considered an overly extreme political line. In Rovigo, Ciro D’Orsi announced the dissolution of his local committee after three other committee representatives had resigned.
Earlier departures included Pescara councillor and former deputy mayor Cristian Orta, and former Sardinian regional councillor Marcello Orrù. Orrù said 500 members of his Sassari committee intended to return their party cards and join Italia Domani, led by Marco Rizzo.
The party also expelled Luca Sforzini in September, citing repeated attacks on members and what it described as unfounded accounts of the movement. Sforzini, who led the Rinascimento Nazionale study centre, had advocated a more moderate and liberal approach. Last month, Onelio Onofrio Francioso left Futuro Nazionale for Italia Domani, where he became the party’s coordinator in Milan.
Vannacci played down the departures, saying he wanted those who remained to be committed to the movement and that the party would continue moving forward with them.
Sources: Il Sole 24 Ore Italia.