Stand-up comic Beppe Grillo, co-founder of the populist 5-Star Movement (M5S), claimed on Saturday his right to dissolve the party.
This declaration came after the party’s current leader, Giuseppe Conte, ended Grillo’s consultancy contract, worth €300,000 annually. Conte announced this decision amid growing tension, stating that his relationship with Grillo had “broken irreversibly.” The disagreement between the two prominent figures escalated over issues such as M5S’s two-term rule for its representatives and the use of the party’s name and symbol.
Conte, a former Italian prime minister, has voiced his desire to amend the party’s statute, potentially allowing elected members to serve more than two terms. Grillo, however, has been adamant in preserving this restriction, warning that neither the rule nor the party’s identity should change. The rift has sparked speculation about a potential split within M5S.
On his blog, Grillo responded to Conte’s actions with characteristic defiance, asserting his authority as the party’s founder. “I absolutely do not want to make a mess,” he wrote. “But I stake my claim as the creator of the movement. I claim my right to the extinction of the movement.”
Grillo expressed his frustration with Conte, whom he likened to the “Wizard of Oz,” and questioned Conte’s vision for M5S. “When I see this flag of the 5 Stars, with the Wizard of Oz (Conte) in front, speaking of direct democracy, I get a hole in my stomach,” he said. Grillo further suggested Conte could create his own political group, stating, “He can make his own nice party… with it written, Oz and his 22 mandates can reach 8%.”
The deepening rift between Conte and Grillo raises questions about M5S’s future, with some suggesting an impending schism.
