Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio
announced Wednesday that he was quitting as the leader of the
5-Star Movement (M5S), saying it was time for the
anti-establishment group to make a fresh start.
"The time has come for us to remake ourselves," he said.
"Today an era is coming to an end.
"The M5S is a visionary project that was never achieved
before and has no equal anywhere in the world.
"We got into office, we proposed an excellent premier and
two very good teams of ministers and undersecretaries.
"No one would be willing to bet on our future.
"We have been the nightmare of analysts but it is not over.
"It has just begun.
"This project of growth for the future decades is
continuing".
Di Maio was a political novice with little work experience
when he was elected to parliament as an M5S MP in 2013 at the
age of 26.
He went on to become the Lower House's youngest ever deputy
speaker and then won an online primary to become the M5S's
premier candidate before the 2018 general election.
Although the M5S was the individual party to do best in that
election, winning around 33% of the vote, it did not muster
enough support for a ruling majority in parliament.
So it formed a coalition government under Premier Giuseppe
Conte with the rightwing League party and then, when League
leader Matteo Salvini pulled the plug on that executive last
year, with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) for the 'Conte
2' administration.
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