"Now my service to the Fatherland continues in a different guise ." This is explained by the League MEP and general Roberto Vannacci in a letter to the Corriere della Sera in which he replies to the journalist Carlo Verdelli .

"With regard to your suggestion that I resign from the Army, I would like to point out that no law or regulation requires me to do so ," he continues. " Moreover, I am not aware of any requests in the past for the resignation of other military personnel or magistrates who have publicly expressed their ideas or who have actively participated in the political life of the country."

"It is not unlikely - adds Vannacci - that one day I may return to active military service."

The general then clarifies in the letter his reference to the Decima Mas, which was much criticized before the European vote. " Among the ranks of today's Navy there is a unit that is heir to the traditions, value, courage and heroic deeds of that most glorious unit of the Royal Navy - he says -, which operated by sinking a tonnage of enemy ships greater than the entire Navy had done from '39 to '43. That is the Decima to whose value I bow with deference . Any other reference would be totally arbitrary and I reject it to the sender. It is also disheartening to note that the names of these heroes are almost always unknown to today's young people".

«I also reiterate that I do not consider 'fascist' an offense, but, at most, a political judgment that, as such, I respect», he concludes.

(Unioneonline/vl)