(22 Jan 2020) The head of Italy's 5-Star Movement stepped down as party leader Wednesday, following a string of parliamentary defections, falling poll numbers and questions about the movement's future.
Luigi Di Maio said he had finished his work, that an era had ended, and that he would trust his successor to lead the party going forward.
“I'm here to give my resignation as leader," he told a gathering of party faithful in Rome, ending days of speculation that he would step down as party leader while remaining Italy's foreign minister.
"Many are writing and calling, telling me not to give up. I'm not giving up. As far as I'm concerned, it's only the end of a phase," he said.
The 5-Stars have been in crisis for months, most acutely since the movement flipped coalition partners in September. But even earlier, it was beset by infighting and has seen the defections or expulsions of 31 lawmakers since the party won 33% of the vote in the 2018 election.
It was the 5-Stars' biggest victory nationally since its birth as a grassroots, anti-establishment protest movement led by comic Beppe Grillo.
Analysts have long said the party has struggled to pivot into an effective governing force, hobbled by its uneasy governing alliances first with the right-wing League party and, since September, with the center-left Democratic Party. In the process, it has alienated voters by defying some of its core values.
The conflict came to a head a few days before a regional election this weekend that is likely to see Matteo Salvini’s League party score well in the traditional leftist stronghold of Emilia Romagna.
Latest polls showed the League and the Democratic candidate running close.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
