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The temptation is there. And there are also a couple of names that we are thinking about. Roberto Vannacci looks to Calabria and evaluates the possibility of launching Futuro Nazionale in the race for the seat in the Chamber vacated by Forzista Francesco Cannizzaro, elected mayor of Reggio Calabria in June.
The by-elections will be held on 27 and 28 September in the constituency which includes Reggio Calabria and several municipalities up to Villa San Giovanni. The deadline for submitting candidacies expires on August 24th and for Futuro Nazionale the Calabrian one could become the first real electoral test of importance.
So far, apart from the case of Vigevano, where the futurists supported Furio Suvilla’s list which with 14% stopped the League by excluding it from the ballot, Vannacci’s supporters have never fielded their own candidate. Up to now, the party has been driven mainly by its members, which have reached 140 thousand, and by polls that place it at around 7%.
The name of Paolo Ferrara
Precisely the data from the surveys fuels the internal comparison. On the one hand there are those who would like to take advantage of the favorable moment, collect the necessary signatures and compete immediately at the polls, also in the knowledge that a candidacy would still guarantee the party weeks of visibility. On the other hand, there are those who call for prudence and would prefer to postpone the real electoral test to politics.
Among the names indicated as possible candidates in Calabria is that of Paolo Ferrara, president of UniReggio, a training body and university center in Reggio Calabria. Ferrara does not hide his sympathy for Vannacci and often comments on the “Vannacci phenomenon” on social media, also publishing videos with Domenico Furgiuele, Calabrian deputy and head of Futuro Nazionale.
A first internal confrontation is scheduled tomorrow in Santa Trada, the coastal town of Villa San Giovanni, with Furgiuele and Edoardo Ziello, national head of the party’s organisation. Vannacci will not be present, confirming that he is evaluating the possibility of taking sides and that he will announce the decision at the appropriate time.
Forza Italia defends the seat
A possible candidacy by Futuro Nazionale would make the Forza Italia match, considered the favourite, more treacherous. The seat to be assigned was in fact that of Cannizzaro and the Azzurri can count on a strong rooting in Calabria, a land that once belonged to Jole Santelli and is now led by Roberto Occhiuto, Antonio Tajani’s number two in the party.
Forza Italia has not yet made its candidate official, but the name circulating most insistently is that of Fabio Roscioli, national treasurer of the party and lawyer for Fininvest, close to the Berlusconi family.
The broad field is looking for a common candidate
On the opposite front, the broad camp is also evaluating the possibility of entering the challenge with a shared candidate. After August 15th the national table with local leaders and representatives should meet to reach a decision.
At the moment, the hypothesis of a candidacy for Carmine Fotia, a journalist born in Reggio Emilia who at the end of July had given his availability, claiming that he could count on the support of part of the left, is more difficult.