Staff Writer Tommaso Paolucci unpacks how Italian politician Roberto Vannacci uses dictionary definitions to legitimise extremist rhetoric. Italian Party Futuro Nazionale (FN) held its first party convention, attended by about 1,500 delegates, on 13 and 14 June 2026. Vannacci does not believe that abortion is a woman’s right and claims that it is “an unfortunate necessity which women are forced to resort to”. He then says that they are not just abnormal to him, but to “the Italian dictionary”. By hiding behind dictionary definitions, Vannacci creates plausible deniability for language that would otherwise be condemned outright.