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.
Di Maio had been under pressure for some time amid a wave of
defections from the party, faltering poll numbers, and poor
local-election results.
Pressure had built after the loss of 18 MPs in the last few
weeks, and 31 since the current parliament was voted in in 2018.
"The time has come for us to remake ourselves," he said as he
made the announcement at presentation of new regional
'facilitators' at Rome's Temple of Hadrian.
"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) and other
smaller groups for the 'Conte 2' administration.
The party's poll ratings have dropped to less than a half the
33% it won at the 2018 general election, to about 15-16%.
But its score fell below even that at last year's Umbria
regional elections, and it is expected to poll badly in
Emilia-Romagna and Calabria on Sunday.
Di Maio said former M5S Senate whip, former interior
undersecretary and ex cabinet secretary with the media brief
Vito Crimi will take over as caretaker leader until an
'estates-general' meeting in mid-March.
The minister played down speculation his move could further
destabilise the current Conte government, which has frequently
been hit by rows between the coalition partners.
"We ask for the sacrosanct right to be judged at the end of
the five years of the parliamentary term," he said.
"I think the government should continue because at the end
(of the term) the results will be there to see.
"But we need to have the time to sort out the mess made by
those who government for 30 years before us".
Di Maio also said that the worst enemies of the M5S were
within its ranks.
"We have lots of enemies," He said.
"But no political party has ever been defeated from the
outside.
"The worst enemies are those within our ranks who work for
their own visibility and not for the group".
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