Kremlin-tinged challenger tests Meloni as Italy approaches elections

Italy’s election-year contest is being strained by Roberto Vannacci’s Futuro Nazionale, which channels pro-Russia sentiment and calls to reopen ties with Moscow, challenging PM Giorgia Meloni’s pro-Ukraine stance. Polls placed the new party around 7.6% this summer, raising concerns among analysts that Moscow-linked influence could complicate EU security consensus, NATO commitments, and Meloni’s re-election prospects, while the party also advocates energy-cost diplomacy with Russia.