Party That Promised to Clean Up Italian Politics Finds It a Messy Business Vote to protect coalition ally from prosecution deepens fears in the 5 Star Movement that the party is losing its purpose By Giovanni Legorano
https://www.wsj.com/articles/party-that-promised-to-clean-up-italian-politics-find-it-a-messy-business-11550574383
ROME—Italy’s 5 Star Movement rose from a grass-roots campaign against political corruption to an election-winning party. The realities of life in government since last summer, however, are putting it under growing strain.
A vote by the party’s members on Monday to block the criminal prosecution of far-right coalition ally Matteo Salvini posed a sharp dilemma: Preserve the 5 Star’s commitment to allowing the investigation and prosecution of politicians, or protect the governing coalition with Mr. Salvini’s League.
Prosecutors want to put Mr. Salvini, who is also Italy’s interior minister, on trial for allegedly kidnapping 177 undocumented migrants last summer, when he refused to let them disembark from a ship in a Sicilian port for five days. Italy’s Senate would have to lift Mr. Salvini’s immunity from prosecution for a trial to proceed.
A Senate subcommittee is expected to recommend Tuesday that Mr. Salvini keep his immunity. A full Senate vote is expected in March.
The 5 Star Movement, which holds the balance in the Senate, had passed the decision to its grass-roots activists, more than 50,000 of whom voted on Monday on a party website. About 59% heeded the call of 5 Star leader Luigi Di Maio to protect Mr. Salvini from prosecution. Mr. Di Maio argued that Mr. Salvini acted to protect the interests of the state.
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