Italy's opposition 5-Star breaks with co-founder Grillo

25/11/2024 6:09

        Italy's 5-Star Movement severed
        ties on Sunday with its co-founder, the comedian Beppe Grillo, a
        further step in turning what was once a radical protest movement
        into a more mainstream left-leaning force.
        
        In a series of reforms, 5-Star supporters also voted down a
        proposal to ban alliances with other parties, a move that could
        smooth relations with the main opposition Democratic Party (PD)
        and ultimately provide more of an electoral challenge to Prime
        Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition.
        
        Grillo, who helped to create the party in 2009, had retained
        a formal role as guarantor of its founding values, and an annual
        contract worth 300,000 euros ($313,000) as communications
        adviser.
        
        However, party members voted 63%-29% in favour of abolishing
        the guarantor role in a decision announced at the end of a
        two-day "constituent assembly" event focused on reforming its
        statutes.
        
        "I didn't expect our guarantor to get in the way, and go in
        with his studs up," said party leader Giuseppe Conte, using a
        soccer metaphor and illustrating the bad blood between the two
        men.
        
        Conte has repeatedly clashed with Grillo since he took the
        reins of Italy's second-largest opposition party in 2021.
        
        Grillo did not attend the party gathering. He had earlier
        posted a cryptic message on WhatsApp that read "From Franciscans
        to Jesuits", interpreted as a reference to a shift by the party
        from simple direct messaging to something more complex.
        
        Grillo, known for his outspoken language, has in the past
        accused Conte of lacking political vision and criticised what he
        saw as an attempt to turn the once-maverick 5-Star into a
        traditional leader-centred party.
        
        Grillo founded the movement with internet expert Gianroberto
        Casaleggio. Within a decade it won 32% of the vote at 2018
        elections, double that of its nearest rival, and became the
        senior partner in a coalition government.
        
        It has lost steam in recent years, weakened by internal
        bickering, and it currently has around 11% support ratings in
        polls.