New right-wing party in Italy: Futuro Nazionale

The Lega, the party of Italian Minister Matteo Salvini, is facing meltdown after a split. In early February, popular MEP Roberto Vannacci announced his resignation and founded the National Future party, a move that Salvini had long been able to prevent. Vannacci's ambitions to distance himself from Salvini and his policies had been known for a long time. Vannacci is politically to the right of Salvini and, like him, is an avowed supporter of Putin. In his book published in 2023, he declared himself a supporter of the Great Replacement theory.

Vannacci has since managed to attract several prominent members of the Lega to his new party, including three parliamentarians. Vannacci has joined the AfD-dominated ESN (Europe of Sovereign Nations) group in the European Parliament, becoming its first and only Italian representative.

In recent polls, the FN stands at three to four per cent, while the Lega has lost around two per cent to six to seven per cent.