Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Politics
Angelo Amante

Italy's 5-Star leader pledges to support Draghi despite schism

FILE PHOTO: Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte looks on during a news conference to discuss the 5-Star political party, in Rome, Italy, June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

Italy's 5-Star Movement is not considering leaving Mario Draghi's government, party chief Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday, dismissing suggestions he could withdraw after his group broke in two.

Following weeks of tension with Conte, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio left the 5-Star to form a new parliamentary group, in a schism that threatens to bring fresh instability to Draghi's broad coalition.

FILE PHOTO: Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio arrives for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin, Germany May 14, 2022. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo

The 5-Star triumphed at 2018 elections when it took 33% of the vote but is now polling at less than half that level.

Following Di Maio's move, there was speculation Conte could quit the government to try to halt 5-Star's slide in support.

"Support for Draghi is not under discussion," Conte, a former prime minister, told reporters following a meeting of the party's leadership.

Di Maio's new group, Together for the Future, includes 51 members at the lower house and political sources said at least 10 would join in the upper house Senate.

As a result, the 5-Star is no longer the largest group in parliament, ceding that position to the rightist League.

Di Maio has accused Conte of undermining efforts to support Ukraine and of weakening Rome's standing within the European Union, after the 5-Star became increasingly critical about sending weapons to Ukraine.

But Conte said no one should question the 5-Star's pro-EU and pro-NATO stance. "I have been prime minister ... I cannot accept any lessons on this," he said.

Although he has denied suggestions he might pull out of the coalition, party sources said this could not be ruled out ahead of national elections slated for 2023.

Alessandro Di Battista, a former 5-Star heavyweight who quit the group last year after it decided to join Draghi's cabinet, urged it to go immediately into opposition.

"Why the hell are you still in there? Get out of that vile mess. You didn't count for anything before let alone now. Is that so difficult to understand?", he said.

If 5-Star does pull out of the government, Draghi would still muster a majority in parliament.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, Editing by William Maclean)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.