Giuseppe Conte, leader of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), has announced that his relationship with the movement’s founder, comedian Beppe Grillo, has “irreversibly broken.” Conte confirmed he will not renew Grillo’s €300,000-a-year consultancy contract as the party’s ‘guarantor’.
Conte and Grillo have been at odds for months, particularly over potential changes to the M5S statute, which could remove the current two-term limit for elected representatives. Grillo remains adamant that the two-term rule should stay in place. He also insists the movement’s name and symbol must not be altered.
The dispute has raised concerns of a potential split within the party. In an interview with veteran TV journalist Bruno Vespa for his forthcoming book, Conte expressed his disappointment with Grillo’s behaviour. “I have been deeply struck by how he has behaved on a human level,” Conte said. He added that Grillo’s resistance to democratic participation goes against the original ideals of the movement’s late co-founder, Gianroberto Casaleggio.
Conte emphasised the clash is not personal but rather about Grillo’s opposition to the community he helped create. “Beppe Grillo is responsible for counter-communication that has undermined the grounds for our contractual collaboration,” Conte explained. He also revealed that Grillo had demanded payment as the party’s guarantor, a role Conte believes should carry moral value rather than financial compensation.
