Populist 5-Star Movement (M5S)
founder Beppe Grillo and the movement's anointed new leader,
former premier Giuseppe Conte, made peace Thursday over lunch at
a restaurant owned by the stand-up comic near Livorno on the
southern Tuscan coast.
A recent bust-up between the two had threatened to split the
movement.
Grillo posted a picture of the smiling pair on Facebook saying
"Now let's think of 2050!"
Grillo and Conte said Sunday they had patched things up and
reached an agreement on a new statute for a revamp of the
anti-establishment group, heading off the risk of a split.
In a joint statement, they said the movement would adopt new,
effective instruments for the future up to 2050, with "clear
legitimate leadership" of the group.
M5S members will get to vote on the changes once the details
have been finalized.
Conte had agreed to lead a revamp of the M5S after his second
coalition government collapsed at the start of the year.
Although he was considered close to the movement, he had not
previously been part of it.
But the Conte-led revamp was close to running aground at the end
of last month when the ex-premier and Grillo engaged in a war of
words.
Conte accused Grillo of being autocratic after the latter said
that the ex-premier lacked political vision and managerial
ability.
This led to speculation that Conte could form a party of his own
with the support of many of the M5S's lawmakers.
The ex-premier, 56, and Grillo reportedly fell out over changes
to the movement's statute, including possible changes to the ban
on its elected representatives serving more than two terms, and
over the role that the 72-year-old founder would have.
The comedian-cum-politician is currently the 'guarantor' of the
movement.
The Internet-based movement was only founded in 2009 but it fast
won support among people disaffected by Italy's traditional
parties and it was the individual group that won most votes in
the 2018 general election.
It has now been part of three coalition governments though and,
with the compromises that come with being in power, a
signification chunk of its support has fallen away recently.
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