Verhofstadt 'bowed to establishment'

(ANSA) - Rome, January 10 - Leader of anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) Beppe Grillo on Tuesday said Guy Verhofstadt, chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), is "small-minded" and "bowed to establishment pressure", in a post on his blog announcing the failure of a short-lived M5S deal to join ALDE. Grillo said Verhofstadt "should only be ashamed of himself". "With the ALDE accord failed, we have respected the will expressed online by applying the choice voted second-highest by those certified: remain in the EFDD group," Grillo said. EFDD leader Nigel Farage of Britain's UKIP party has set conditions on the M5S staying including pushing for a referendum on the euro and suspending the MEP who negotiated the deal with ALDE.