Roberto Vannacci anticipates his arrival at the Cernobbio Forum and shows up at Villa d'Este a day early

Roberto Vannacci anticipates his arrival at the Cernobbio Forum and, surprisingly, shows up at Villa d'Este a day ahead of schedule. Expected tomorrow at a panel with former Prime Minister Mario Monti entitled 'The European project between integration and sovereignty: the Italian point of view', the general is preparing his debut in front of the audience of entrepreneurs. "It's my first time, I will talk about Europe, integration and sovereignty", the leader of Futuro Nazionale simply says, avoiding journalists' questions on the investigation by the military prosecutor's office. "What does it have to do with Cernobbio", his reply.

Among the over 200 managers and entrepreneurs who arrived on Lake Como for the 52nd edition of the Forum, there is curiosity about the intervention of the former general, to whom today Youtrend polls attribute 7.9% of the vote, above Forza Italia, as well as the League. "I don't agree with his program, but it is right that in a democracy we can discuss and listen to everyone's ideas", says the former CEO and general director of Enel Francesco Starace, present in Cernobbio as a partner of Eqt Group and president of Sustainable Energy for All.

A position shared by many of those present in the halls of the sixteenth-century residence. Vannacci crosses them dragging a trolley in a blue shirt, khaki trousers and white sneakers, before locking himself in the annex reserved for guests for most of the day and only overlooking the hotel garden in the late afternoon. Without any fear of being rejected, as he was keen to point out to the reporters present, comparing tomorrow's speech to the first jump in an airplane. "And I always travel with a parachute, the main one and the reserve...", is the general's joke.

The controversy over his presence at the Ambrosetti Forum, which for this reason was deserted by Action leader Carlo Calenda, did not keep him away from the noble shore of Lake Como. This, after all, is the spirit of the Forum, "a platform that wants to create a space for dialogue and discussion, even between people who support different positions, comparing ideas, visions and opinions in a logic of listening and exchange", recalled Valerio De Molli, managing partner and CEO of The European House - Ambrosetti and Teha Group. "Inviting different interlocutors and, sometimes, even very distant from each other - he added - is not to legitimize their positions, but to listen to them and allow everyone to deal with them".