The jockeying for position between the old and new right-wing parties in Italy has found a new cause – which party is more supportive of the right of householders to shoot trespassers in their home or workplace.

Other politicians have opposed any expansion of the self-defence law as being “do-it-yourself justice” or legalised vendetta.

The spark for the conflict is the case of Mr Mario Roggero, the proprietor of a jewellery shop who killed two thieves in the street after they had robbed his premises.

Mr Roggero unsuccessfully relied on the defence of legitimate defence and has been convicted of two counts of homicide and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment.

The final appeal decision in Rome this week confirmed the findings of the trial court in Asti and the intermediate appeal court in Turin.

Representing the old right is Matteo Salvini, Deputy Prime Minister, leader of the Lega Party (formerly the Northern League) and who was also the minister who introduced the current version of the self-defence law in Italy.

He visited Mr Roggero on his first two days in prison and has called on the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, to immediately grant a pardon to Roggero.

Challenging the old right is the new far-right party “Futuro Nazionale” led by former general Roberto Vannacci, who resigned from the Lega last year.

The new party was established in February and is polling at 4-6% popularity, campaigning on “remigration” and “traditional values”, accusing the old parties of being politically compromised.

Members staged a demonstration outside the court building when Roggero’s appeal decision was announced.

Each of the two parties is vying to recruit Mr Roggero and/or his lawyers to become their candidates in the national elections to be held next year. We await their decision.

The politicisation of the case has led to challenges for the judiciary and the executive government.

The final appeal judgment released a torrent of political and personal attacks on the judges. The head of the national association of judges, Giuseppe Tango, said the law had been correctly applied. He particularly criticised the politicians who said the judges should have somehow found a way around the law and acquitted Mr Roggero, now known as “Super Mario”.

The focus has turned to the President of Italy, who has the constitutional power to grant pardons. There was a cry of “grazia subito” [pardon immediately], a bit like the “santo subito” for Pope John Paul II.

It took nine years for John Paul II to be declared a saint.

At the prompting of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Attorney General Carlo Nordio, the Minister of Justice and a member of Prime Minister Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, also expressed support for an immediate pardon.

For his trouble, he was then called in to a meeting with President Mattarella, who told him that the power to pardon could not be used to get around court decisions as it was only granted to reformed offenders.

Mr Roggero remains convinced that he did nothing wrong – so a pardon does not seem imminent.

The facts of the case have been reported in lurid detail. Three men entered the jewellery store armed with a knife and what turned out to be a toy gun. They took jewellery and fled, running towards their car about eight metres away (it was in regional Italy, and parking was not at a premium).

Seconds later, as they were getting into their car, Mr Roggero came out of the shop with a pistol in his hand. He fired four shots into the vehicle, killing one of the men and wounding the two others.

One of the wounded men tried to run away down the street but fell over. Mr Roggero hit him and kicked him in the head, causing fatal injuries.

Mr Salvini is now talking of amending the defence law, although Meloni’s party and the opposition parties are opposed to an amendment made in the heat of the moment.

Salvini has the support of Elon Musk, who responded on X that Roggero’s prison sentence was “insane” and that it was the judge and the prosecutor “who deserve this sentence”.

I hear that in the 1990s in NSW there were calls for expanding self-defence protections for homeowners in “home invasion” cases, and legislation was passed.

The theme was recently taken up again by an MP representing the Shooters Party. However, even the NSW MP’s proposal would not save Mr Roggero because it specifically provides that self-defence cannot be raised when “the intruder is fleeing or retreating”.