“Do not use the personal rantings of a serving general to polemicise with the Defence ministry and the armed forces,” Crosetto said on X (formerly Twitter), referring to the book The World Back To Front by 55-year-old General Roberto Vannacci, who at present directs the Italian Military Geographic Institute (IGMI).
“General Vannacci has expressed opinions that discredit the Army, Defence and the Constitution,” he added.
“For this reason, the Defence ministry will start the foreseen disciplinary examination.
“The Armed Force distances itself from the entirely personal considerations (as specified in the text) expressed by the officer,” read a separate statement from the army, adding that the force reserved the right “to take all measures necessary to protect its image”.
In his book, Vannacci, formerly the head of the Folgore paratroopers, says of homosexuals: “You are not normal, come to terms with it!”, insisting that “normality is heterosexuality”.
“If everything seems normal to you, however, it is the fault of the plots of the international gay lobby,” he adds.
He also speaks strongly in favour of self defence: for example, if a burglar enters a house, “why should I not be authorised to shoot him, to stab him with whatever object I can get my hands on?”.
“If I plunge the pencil I have in my breast pocket into the jugular of the mug that attacks me, killing him, why should I risk being condemned?”
Vannacci said on Thursday that he is not bothered by Crosetto’s comments, but that he is grieved that his words have been taken out of context.
“... criticism does not bother me and I am not going to reply to Minister Crosetto,” he said.
“I will follow (the minister’s) instructions.
“What upsets me is the instrumentalisation. Sentences have been taken out of context and used to construct stories that do not emerge from the book.
“I am saddened by the decontextualisation and the trial of opinions,” Vannacci concluded.
ANSA
