“Dear Dr. Carlo Verdelli, after carefully reading your article, I immediately clarify that my commitment to the homeland and to constitutional values has never wavered. An oath, especially the one with the tricolor flag, is eternal! Regarding your proposal to resign from the Army, I would like to clarify that no law or regulation obliges me to do so. Furthermore, I do not know that in the past there have been requests for the resignation of other military personnel or magistrates who had publicly expressed their ideas or who had actively participated in the political life of the country”. These are the words of General Roberto Vannacci, elected from the ranks of the Northern League in the European Parliament. He confided them to the Corriere della Sera where the case of compatibility of the position of MEP with that of military personnel in the Italian army was raised by the journalist Carlo Verdelli. “His advice – adds Vannacci – therefore appears to be without foundation either in law or in history. (…) From now on my service to my country continues in another form: 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 democracy – recently again, by the mayor of Nichelino) and respect for human dignity”. And finally an open door: “It is not unlikely that one day I could return to active military service, as Cincinnatus did when he returned to his lands. To demand that a politician be exclusively a politician, without experience in other areas and unable to resume such activities, would impose strong limitations on participation in the public life of the country for those who have chosen the profession of military, professor or magistrate.
The Decima Mas and the definition of fascist
In his letter, Vannacci emphasizes that “the partisan digression on Decima Mas has no place, especially if it is addressed to someone who served for thirty years in the Special Forces of our country. In addition to what she wanted to expose to corroborate her theory, for the sake of truth, she should have remembered that among the ranks of today's Navy there is a department heir to the traditions, bravery, courage and heroic deeds of that glorious unit of the Royal Navy that operated by sinking a tonnage of enemy ships greater than that which the entire Navy had done from 1939 to 1943. This is the tenth value to which I bow with deference.” And again: “I also reaffirm that I do not consider the term “fascist” as a crime, but at most as a political judgment that, as such, I respect. Instead, “quoi…ne” (to quote a well-known political figure) is certainly an insult. “Dr. Verdelli, get over yourself. Besides, what would be so heroic about resigning from the army? As I have already replied to my colleague Biloslavo, by resigning I could combine the emoluments of the military pension with those of a Member of the European Parliament, perhaps proving right those who on television claimed that I had already calculated the pension for some time. Nowadays, waiting no longer seems audacious
my waiver of double salary?
Verdelli's response
Below is Verdelli's response: “It is true, General Vannacci, no law obliges you to resign from your high office. “Italy needs leaders,” she writes, and she is applying to become one. So, precisely in this key, I confirm my useless advice. Ps. I would not define my digression on Decima Mas as “partisan.” If only out of respect for the partisans that the Decima fought with merciless ardor after September 8. And I will stop here.”
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