Beppe Grillo admitted on
Friday that he was "a little tired" and called on supporters of
his 5-Star Movement to vote for a team to flank at the helm of
the anti-establishment group.
"The M5S needs a bigger structure," Grillo wrote on his
popular blog, which gave life to the movement in 2009.
"Me, my camper and the blog are not enough any more".
The Internet-based M5S rocked the political establishment
by capturing a quarter of the vote at last year's general
election.
But the bossy, firebrand style of the 66-year-old
comedian-turned-politician and his uncompromising stance on many
issues, including his refusal to strike deals with the
established parties and his ban on M5S lawmakers giving TV
interviews, has come under fire recently.
These stances have been blamed for the M5S's disappointing
showing in May's European elections and in regional elections
this month in Calabria and Emilia-Romagna.
The movement is also in torment over Thursday's expulsion
of two MPs, Massimo Artini and Paola Pinna, for allegedly
violating party rules by failing to return a share of their
parliamentary salaries.
On his blog, Grillo asked M5S supporters to vote to ratify
the nominations of five senior figures, Alessandro Di Battista,
Luigi Di Maio, Roberto Fico, Carla Ruocco and Carlo Sibilia, to
flank him.
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