Vannacci in Sardinia: «No to the dictatorship of minorities»
“I'm not a racist, let alone xenophobic. Those who accuse me have not read the book but only decontextualized sentences ». At 6 pm the highly contested Army Division General Roberto Vannacci crosses the entrance to the Town Hall, behind him the uniforms of the Mobile Department of the police, the Carabinieri and the traffic police engulf thirty meters of road. Fifty-four years old and wearing a plaid shirt that attracts so many tourists on vacation, he is here - a few tens of kilometers from where he spends a few days with his family - for the first official presentation of the text that has been agitating Italian politics for weeks, "The world at contrary", which is his very personal point of view on society and - for some - a far-fetched electoral program. The military's self-produced work is at the top of Amazon's sales with a distillation of insults against gays, migrants and - squeeze tight - what he calls the "dictatorship of minorities".
What was the need to write it?
«Nobody, it's a personal satisfaction. It came about by chance with initially jotted ideas about energy, a topic I know from having been around for a long time in countries with great wealth in fossil fuels. The chapters came by themselves, one after another, I didn't have a strategy. A friend gave me some advice, I thought maybe I can sell a thousand copies. Then things took a different turn."
He punched her, threatened her with a wrench and screwdriver, and even simulated sexual intercourse with a local police officer.
Emanuele Floris
You've carved out the part of the hater.
“I've never been. I express opinions and claim the right to feel hate, but I have never instigated hate. To prevent me from feeling a feeling, it would take the thought police, the one of Orwellian memory. There is no doubt that some sentences are provocative, but I never imagined this fuss. Two journalists from Corriere della Sera and Repubblica with their articles against me created the Vannacci case».
Forza Nuova, Rizzo's communists, Gianni Alemanno's movement and the League would like to nominate you: have you written a book-manifesto to enter politics?
"I am an old soldier, I have learned prudence and wisdom: I want to continue being a soldier but I will not close any doors for the future".
Minister Crosetto spoke of "the personal ramblings of a general".
"I don't express myself. I have a relationship of honour, respect and discipline with Minister Crosetto. I comply with your provisions and if the opportunity arises I am ready to assert my reasons in the appropriate forums".
Prime Minister Meloni, leader of the Right, has not spent a single word on her.
"I'm sure the prime minister has more important concerns than Vannacci."
After his removal from the leadership of the military geographical institute, he is at the center of a disciplinary investigation.
«It was a replacement, not a removal. For the rest, a summary procedure is underway to ascertain the facts. When it's finished, we'll decide what to do."
The controversy is enriching her: they write that the book has already earned her half a million.
«One does not live on publications. The revenues are more modest than what some journalists write».
Are you sure?
"The numbers are totally different."
Do you regret a few sentences?
"I'd rewrite everything, maybe fix a few dots and commas with less distraction."
She writes: “Normality is heterosexuality. If everything seems normal to you, it's the fault of the plots of the international gay lobby that banned terms that until a few years ago were in our dictionaries: pederast, invert, faggot, rich guy, buliccio, femminiello, bardassa, queer, homophile, uranista, caghineri , culattone which are now court terms”.Would you really rewrite this sentence too?
"Certain. The concept must be read in its entirety. Is it possible that with a millenary, rich, melodic language like ours we have been forced to import a term to define the homosexual from abroad. Did I mention a few words taken from the dictionary, some certainly not appropriate, others usable and among these it was not possible to choose a non-offensive word? Why do we have to copy from foreigners?».
He writes: «More is spent on an irregular immigrant than on the minimum pension of a compatriot». Why fan the fire of intolerance?
“If we can't cite reality because it instigates hatred, let's all shut ourselves up at home. I think that citing factual data can serve to reflect in order to eventually find correctives».
Where do you see the dictatorship of minorities?
“Wherever a minority wants to impose its customs and desires on the majority. The LGBTQ planet, for example, represents 3 percent of the population but there are specialized agencies that tell us that in the mass media these portions of society are represented at 20-25 percent».
Doesn't it scare you to handle so casually a concept that caused wars and deaths in the 1900s?
"It doesn't scare me because I am also addressing those animal rights activists who at Easter accuse anyone who eats a lamb of murder or those who would like to remove the crucifix from classrooms in a country that is 80 percent Catholic: the instance alone does not represent violence against the majority?
The leaders of the Army have reduced the celebrations of the "day of remembrance" to avoid a controversy over his case. Instead, the defense minister ordered that Folgore celebrate it as per tradition. Will he go?
«I led the 9th Col Moschin regiment, it is my family by choice. I'll go to the party, I think it's a pleasure to find the comrades, write comrades, it's a word that has nothing to do with the Ventennio».
What is normality?
“A statistical definition. Even the doctor says it: you have normal values. It's not good and it's not bad."
You are Catholic, but the Pope has a very different position on migrants.
“The Pope is free to think what he wants. I'm not a priest: but never say never, I don't close the door to any hypothesis».
Do you consider the woman only as a mother?
“Anyone who says that hasn't read the book. I exalt the woman for her role, she makes the species prosper, we should allow women who want to play the role of mother without going to work. In a country that has had a citizen's income, why not establish a maternity income?».
What if they told you that you only put together the worst clichés and the worst insults against gays, women, immigrants?
«It is useless to talk nonsense. Never used foul language, never used insults. If someone perceives it this way, the problem lies with those who interpret the language».
