Former commander's anti-migrant and homophobic bestseller splits Italy's right-wing coalition

General Roberto Vannacci, former head of the Italian special forces, wrote The World Back to Front

A homophobic bestseller and anti-immigrant book written by the former head of the Italian special forces, caused a split in the right-wing ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.

While some ministers distanced themselves from the book of 54-year-old General Roberto Vannacci, a paratrooper, others welcomed him and defended his right to express his opinion, no matter how offensive.

The book, entitled The World Back to Front, caused a sensation when it was published last week, reflecting extreme views on a wide range of issues.

It was interpreted as hostile towards a wide range of society, from gay people and feminists to migrants and advocates environment.

The general, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote that homosexuals are not «normal» and denounced what he called «minority dictatorship» and the «international gay lobby.»

«You are not normal, accept with this,» he wrote, adding that «normality is heterosexuality.»

The World «Back to the front » by General Vannacci became a bestseller on Amazon

The release of the book led to the fact that General Vannacci, the former commander of an elite Italian parachute regiment, was dismissed from the post of head of the Military Geographic Institute, which he took over in June.

But the attitude towards him has changed. ruling coalition. Some senior government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, came out in defense of the general.

Mr Salvini, who heads the far-right League party, said he would buy the book, which became a bestseller on Amazon, and I had a «very cordial» phone call with the general on Monday.

But Guido Crosetto, defense minister and founding member of Ms. Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party, said the general's «personal ravings» had discredited the Italian armed forces.

Antonio Tajani, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ministers criticized the book and said that the general should have shown more «prudence» before expressing such inflammatory opinions.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have demanded that Ms Meloni, who was holidaying in Puglia in southern Italy with her partner and young daughter, make her position on the controversy clear.

It has been a tough summer for Ms Meloni, last fall, she was elected Italy's first female prime minister.

Despite her government's tough rhetoric to stop boatloads of migrants coming from North Africa, the number of arrivals is at an all-time high.

< p>So far this year, 105,000 asylum seekers have reached Italian shores, compared to 50,000 in the same period last year and 35,000 in the same period in 2021.

A large number of migrants

In cities and towns across the country, mayors of all politicians are outraged by the large number of migrants they are being told to accommodate.

Luca Zaia, the right-wing governor of the Veneto wing, said the migrant reception system was close to collapse.

He said Italy was in for many years was forced to solve the problem on her own, criticizing the lack of solidarity on the part of the EU.

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“The EU considers Lampedusa the border of Italy, not Europe,” Mr. Zaia told the Corriere della Sera newspaper, referring to the southern island, which has become one of the main drop-off points for people trying to enter Europe.

“ It would be nice if ladies and gentlemen from the EU would return from vacation as soon as possible, there is a lot to do. We cannot allow all of Africa to move to Italy. This is not a racist thing to say. This is an objective fact,” he added.

In an interview with a weekly magazine published on Tuesday, Ms. Meloni said that being prime minister is like riding a non-stop roller coaster.

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“It's like riding a roller coaster 24 hours a day. Every day is a challenge, and it's very difficult to keep everything together,» she said Chi.

«Sometimes there is a desire to get off this roller coaster, stop for a moment and return to normal. But it is a thought that only lingers in your mind for a few moments and then disappears. Because you know that what you are doing has a purpose, a greater meaning.”