Tomorrow and Monday we will vote for the by-elections in the Chamber in the Reggio Calabria-Locri constituency but the electoral campaign, already harsh and characterized by offenses between the centre-right and Vannacci, does not seem to be over. On the contrary. What sparked the controversy right on the eve of the vote was a post on social media by the general in which, to attack the president of the Calabria region and deputy national secretary of Forza Italia, Roberto Occhiuto, he published a photo of the governor's partner, the undersecretary Matilde Siracusano, with a deep, artificially created neckline.
A real storm has hit the general. The entire center-right rose up against the leader of Futuro Nazionale - who went from an ally in the days of the League to an adversary - who defended himself by referring the responsibility of having retouched the photo taken, according to him, from a Calabrian site to others. The interested party, who is already thinking about the lawsuit, spoke to Corriere.it of "a perverse and squalid choice" while Occhiuto underlined that "whoever needs to retouch a woman's body with software to engage in politics has already lost, before even starting".
Forza Italia secretary Tajani branded it a "vulgar and unacceptable" gesture, which "demonstrates the lack of political content on the part of those who devised it". But it's not just Forza Italia that has sided with its deputy.
From the League to the Brothers of Italy to Us Moderates, there was a barrage of vitriolic words against the former paratrooper who moved into politics. And for once the centre-right and centre-left found themselves in agreement, given that the attacks against Vannacci also came from the wide field. The reply from the leader of Futuro Nazionale was dry - "accusations without concreteness" - with the invitation "to look better and address the accusations, if necessary, to the appropriate people. Go ahead and deal with necklines...".
In this scenario, therefore, tomorrow and Monday we will vote for the seat vacated by the Italian regional secretary Francesco Cannizzaro after the election as mayor of Reggio Calabria. A round that came to the attention of Italian politics after Vannacci's move who "stole" the regional group leader Domenico Giannetta from Forza Italia by nominating him with National Future. A move with which the general wants to measure his strengths on the field - after the polls in his favor - and try to demonstrate to the center-right that without his troops next year's elections will be an unknown. The FnV leader's entry into the field, however, does not worry Tajani. "We will also win in Calabria and Roscioli will be the new deputy from Monday" he says confidently.
The coalition that supports the Meloni government - which presents Forza Italia treasurer Fabio Roscioli, close to the Berlusconi family in the by-elections - for its part, has every intention of repelling the attack to send the country the message that it is capable of winning even against FnV. The head of cardiology Frank Benedetto, who leads a super-large center-left that ranges from the 5 Star Movement to Italia Viva, also in this case a laboratory for what could be the political alignment in 2027, hopes to benefit from this clash. Francesco Toscano, who last year presented himself in the regional elections for the presidency, is also running for the seat for Popular Sovereign Democracy.
