M5S to decide Emilia-Romagna run

(ANSA) - Rome, November 21 - The anti-establishment 5-Star MOvement (M5S) is set to decide in a poll of card-carrying members on its online platform Rousseau whether to run in January 26 regional elections in Emilia Romagna or not.
    Activists in Emilia Romagna are in favour of standing there.
    But M5S leader and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio is against it, after a disastrous showing in last month's Umbria elections when it was allied with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).
    Di Maio, who is in national government with the PD and two smaller parties, has said the experiment will not be replicated at a regional level again.
    M5S members will be asked to answer a question as to whether they do not want to present a party list in Emilia Romagna.
    Local militants urged members to vote no to that query on their Facebook page Thursday.
    But Di Maio said "if we present (our list) now we won't have time to hold estates general to create a solid organisation".
    The M5S has historically been much weaker on the regional level that it is at the national level.
    It got 34% at the March 2018 general election, becoming Italy's top party, but is currently polling at less than half that.