“I am not resigning as a general. I continue to serve my country” –

A new controversy rejected. General Roberto Vannacci, a member of the European Parliament for the League, in a letter to Corriere della Sera responded to journalist Carlo Verdelli, who had raised the issue of compatibility between a position as an MEP and a position as a soldier in the Italian army: “My commitment to the homeland and to constitutional values ​​has never waned. An oath, especially one to the tricolor, is forever! Regarding your suggestion to resign from the Army, I would like to point out that no law or regulation requires me to do so. I am not aware, moreover, of any requests in the past for the resignation of other military personnel or magistrates who have publicly expressed their ideas or who have actively participated in the political life of the country. Your advice therefore appears to be groundless both in terms of legislation and history”.

“Now my service to the Fatherland continues in a different guise – explains Vannacci -. I will continue to promote and defend the fundamental values ​​of freedom, democracy, justice, free expression of thought (always questioned by those who, in words, profess to be democratic, only recently, by the mayor of Nichelino) and respect for human dignity”. Furthermore, explains Vannacci, “it is not unlikely that one day I may return to active military service, as Cincinnato did when he returned to his lands. To expect that a politician must be exclusively a politician, without experience in other fields and incapable of returning to such activities, would impose strong limitations on participation in the public life of the country for those who have chosen the profession of soldier, professor or magistrate. Certainly, my current activity is inspired by the same desire that characterized my military career: the defense of Italy, first in arms and now contributing to its well-being, and the protection of its founding values ​​that I protected by risking my life on the battlefield and now defend by expressing myself from the seat of Brussels”.

“Moreover – continues General Vannacci -, I emphasize that your partisan digression on the Decima MAS is out of place, especially if directed at someone who served for thirty years in the Special Forces of our country. In addition to what you were interested in airing to corroborate your theory, for the sake of truth, you should have remembered that among the ranks of today’s Navy there is a unit heir to the traditions, value, courage and heroic deeds of that most glorious unit of the Royal Navy that operated by sinking a tonnage of enemy shipping greater than what the entire Navy had done from ’39 to ’43. That is the Decima to whose value I bow with deference. That, to be clear, of Durand de la Penne, of Emilio Bianchi, of Teseo Tesei, of Bruno Falcomatà, and given my professional background it was not difficult to imagine it. Any other reference would be totally arbitrary and I reject it. It is also disheartening to note that the names of these heroes are almost always unknown to today’s youth”. And again: “I also reiterate that I do not consider ‘fascism’ an offense, but, at most, a political judgment that, as such, I respect”. “The Fatherland, let me say – concludes Vannacci -, also makes use (or, perhaps, above all, in my humble opinion) without being left-wing”.