Rome, April 25, 2024 (AFP)
Italy's far-right League party on Thursday named a general suspended for his views on sexual and ethnic minorities as one of its candidate for upcoming European Parliament elections.
League leader Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister in Giorgia Meloni's coalition government, confirmed Roberto Vannacci would be on the party's list for the vote on June 8 and 9.
"I am happy that a man of value like General Vannacci has decided to continue his battles for freedom together with the League in the European Parliament," he said in a message on X, formerly Twitter.
The announcement, at the launch of a new book by Salvini, comes after weeks of debate within the League as to whether Vannacci is a suitable candidate.
Vannacci was suspended by Italy's defence ministry in February and his pay cut for breaching army neutrality with a book he published last year.
It contained passages in which he denounced the "dictatorship of minorities", and he wrote that gay people were not "normal".
He also said of a well-known Italian black volleyball player, Paola Egonu, that while she had Italian citizenship, "her features do not represent Italian-ness."
He was criticised by those on the left and the right, including those surrounding Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party.
Vannacci is the subject of three separate investigations, including one for allegedly inciting racial hatred and another for defamation against Egonu.
A third investigation is unrelated to his book, relating to alleged financial irregularities during his posting as military attache to the Italian embassy in Moscow in 2021-22.
"I do not share all the reflections of Vannacci, but I strongly defend the right to express ideas," Salvini wrote in his book, according to extracts published by his team.
Meloni's party came top in 2022 national elections with 26 percent of the vote, and is polling at similar levels ahead of the European elections.
Salvini's League is polling at around seven percent, below its 2022 showing of around nine percent.

Sumber : AFP