Far-right general's new party splinters Meloni's coalition ahead of 2027 vote

According to Politico, the National Future party, led by firebrand ex-paratrooper General Roberto Vannacci, is rapidly gathering support and attracting defectors from the governing coalition. The emergence of Vannacci as a political force marks a significant realignment within Italy's right-wing landscape, presenting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with a strategic dilemma: whether to embrace the general's movement or distance herself from it as the 2027 election approaches.

The first effect of Vannacci's rise, Politico reported, is that he is crushing one of Meloni's key coalition allies. This fracturing of the centre-right bloc complicates the arithmetic of Italian governance at a moment when the coalition has already faced internal tensions over economic policy and Europe's hardening migration stance. The timing is significant: with a general election now less than a year away, defections to a rival right-wing force could reshape the balance of power within Meloni's government.