5 Star Movement
| 5 Star Movement | |
|---|---|
| Party leader | Luigi Di Maio |
| Parliamentary leader | |
| Founded | October 4, 2009 |
| Headquarters | |
| Political ideology | Populism |
| Political position | Big tent |
| International affiliation | Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy |
| Color(s) | yellow and white |
| Website | movimento5stelle.it |
The 5 Star Movement (M5S) is a populist political party in Italy. It was founded in 2009 by comedian Beppe Grillo as an anti-establishment protest party, but it quickly gained support and became Italy's largest single political party in 2018.
Electoral success
While the M5S performed poorly in Italy's 2017 mayoral elections,[1][2] the year earlier, it captured the mayorship of Rome.[3] Virginia Raggi, the M5S mayor of Rome called for a suspension of immigration into the city.[4] The M5S performed well in the 2017 Sicilian regional elections, a region heavily impacted by the migrant crisis.[5]
In the 2018 election, M5S along with Lega Nord performed very well, and M5S became the largest single party in Italy.[6] along with massive losses for the Italian left-wing.[7] The party performed so well that in Sicily it won more seats than the number of candidates it put up in the region.[8] Overall, populist and Euroskeptic parties received over 50% of the popular vote.[9] In May 2018, M5S anti-establishment Lega Nord agreed to a common platform, one that promoted strongly nationalist and anti-establishment policies.[10] Both parties allowed their voters to choose whether they approved of the coalition agenda.[11] Despite this, Italy's establishment president rejected the coalition government as it supported nominating a Euroskeptic finance minister.[12] However, a few days later, the two parties were able to reach a compromise with Italy's president and finalized their governing coalition.[13] The new government, Western Europe's first one completely run by populist and anti-establishment parties, was sworn in on June 1, 2018.[14] Giuseppe Conte was named the government's prime minister.
After government coalition's beginning, the M5S found it difficult to keep momentum and maintain its polling numbers as the more conservative Lega Nord took the spotlight.[15] By early 2019, the party was performing significantly worse in various regional elections than it did in the general election, while the League's popularity surged.[16]
Positions
M5S is considered a populist party, but unlike right-wing populist and Euroskeptic parties, it is more centrist overall on issues related to immigration and the European Union, having moderated as it became a more established force.[17][18][19] It has defined itself as an anti-establishment movement.[20][21]
In contrast to Matteo Salvini's Lega Nord, the 5 Star Movement is hostile to Israel. Manlio Di Stefano, one of the leader of this party has accused Israel of committing a "genocide" and claimed that Hamas is apparently just a political party that has resorted to terrorism solely because of "the isolation of Gaza." The party has declared that it would officially recognize a "State of Palestine" when they get into power and condemned the settlement program in the West Bank. Its founder Beppe Grillo believes in 9/11 conspiracy theories and party leaders have supported the Chemtrail conspiracy theory.[22] The M5S has taken a critical stance toward certain liberal French policies, and criticism from M5S leaders partially led France to recall its ambassador to Italy in February 2019.[23]
References
- ↑ D'Emilio, Frances (June 12, 2017). Populists' surge in Italy stops in voting for Italy's mayors. Fox News. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ↑ Zampano, Giada (June 12, 2017). 5Stars suffer setback in Italy’s local elections. Politico. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ↑ Williams, Thomas D. (June 20, 2016). Populist Woman Mayor Wins Rome by Landslide: ‘New Era’ Begins. Breitbart News. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
See also:- Five Star Populists Lose Out in Italian Mayoral Vote. Breitbart News. June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ↑ Shaw, Adam (June 15, 2017). Mayor of Rome Calls for Suspension of Flow of Migrants into the City. Breitbart News. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- ↑ Williams, Thomas D. (November 7, 2017). Populists Crush Center-Left Social Democrats in Sicily Elections. Breitbart News. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Newman, Alex (March 5, 2018). Anti-Establishment Parties Surge in Italian Election. The New American. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- Williams, Thomas D. (March 5, 2018). Populists Sweep Italian National Elections, 5-Star Movement Big Winner. Breitbart News. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- Birnbaum, Michael (March 4, 2018). Fragmented Italian election result reveals power of populists. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- Edwards, Catherine (February 12, 2018). Is Italy's Five Star Movement still an 'anti-establishment' party? The Local. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ↑ Williams, Thomas D. (March 6, 2018). Italy Election Aftermath: Renzi Quits, Center-Left ‘Disappears’. Breitbart News. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ↑ Reale, Claudio (March 6, 2018). Elezioni, vittoria troppo larga per M5S: in Sicilia più seggi che candidati. Palermo. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- D'Emilio, Frances (March 5, 2018). Italy's Populist Parties Rule the Day, but Will They Rule? U.S. News & World Report (from the Associated Press). Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- Birnbaum, Michael (March 5, 2018). Italian populists declare new epoch after election victory. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- Anti-EU parties make big gains in the Italian general election. The Economist. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Shaw, Adam (May 19, 2018). Italy on cusp of populist coalition after parties publish radical joint program. Fox News. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- Lane, Oliver JJ (May 18, 2018). Italian Populists Publish Governing Contract, Slams Failure of ‘Unsustainable’ Immigration. Breitbart News. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- Politi, James; Romei, Valentina (May 18, 2018). Five Star and League strike Italy government deal. Financial Times. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ↑ Segreti, Giulia (May 20, 2018). Italians back League, 5-Star plan as groups ready government team. Reuters. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
See also:- Barigazzi, Jacopo (May 20, 2018). 6 out of 10 Italians approve of populist government: survey. Politico. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Williams, Thomas D. (May 27, 2018). Sabotage: Italian President Blocks Eurosceptic Coalition Govt, Populist Leader Calls for Impeachment. Breitbart News. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- Zampano, Giada (May 27, 2018). Italy’s president scotches populist governing alliance. Politico. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Montgomery, Jack (May 31, 2018). Breakthrough: Populist Italian Govt Back on the Cards as Five-Star and Lega Ink Fresh Deal. Breitbart News. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- Scherer, Steve; Jones, Gavin (May 31, 2018). Italy's anti-establishment leaders revive governing coalition. Reuters. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- Barry, Colleen (May 31, 2018). Italy gets western Europe’s 1st populist govt on second try. Associated Press. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- Horowitz, Jason (May 31, 2018). Italy's Populist Parties Win Approval to Form Government. The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Montgomery, Jack (June 1, 2018). BRUSSELS BEATEN: Populist Coalition Takes Office in Italy, Eurosceptic Savona Returns as EU Affairs Minister. Breitbart News. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- D'Emilio, Frances (June 1, 2018). Populists take power in Italy, with euro-skeptic agenda. Associated Press. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- Jones, Gavin; Di Giorgio, Massimiliano (June 1, 2018). Italy's Conte sworn in as PM of anti-establishment government. Reuters. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- Italy swears in first fully populist government. The Local. June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- Here is Italy's new cabinet in full. The Local. June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ↑ Balmer, Crispian (November 22, 2018). Italy's 5-Star struggles to keep up with soaring Salvini. Reuters. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Speak, Clare (February 26, 2019). Right wing triumphs in Sardinia's local elections. The Local. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- Scherer, Steve (February 25, 2019). Italian right wins Sardinia vote, 5-Star fades. Reuters. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- Ellyatt, Holly (February 26, 2019). Italy's anti-establishment M5S could be headed for 'political disaster after regional collapse. CNBC. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ↑ Legorano, Giovanni (March 1, 2018). Why Italian Elections Matter: A New Type of Populism Is Rising. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ↑ Zampano, Giada (March 13, 2018). 5Star leader: Brussels has nothing to fear. Politico. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ↑ Dettmer, Jamie (March 1, 2018). Italy’s Maverick Political Movement Starts to Grow Up, But at a Cost. Voice of America. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ↑ Lyman, Eric J. (March 1, 2018). Anti-establishment Five-Star Movement set to upend Italian politics. The Washington Times. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ↑ Clarke, Hilary (March 1, 2018). The maverick populists striking fear into Italy's mainstream parties. CNN. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ↑ David, Ariel (July 19, 2016). They’re Openly Hostile to Israel. So Why Did These Italian Politicians Just Pay a Visit?. Haaretz. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ↑ Multiple references:
- Tomlinson, Chris (February 8, 2019). France Recalls Italian Ambassador as Row Between Two Countries Escalates. Breitbart News. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- Irish, John; Rose, Michael (February 7, 2019). France recalls Italy ambassador after worst verbal onslaught 'since the war'. Reuters. Retrieved February 7, 2019.