In 5 star movement the showdown began less than an hour after the re-election of Sergio Mattarella. It is just after 21.30, the head of state has just spoken to the nation evoking the already mentioned “sense of responsibility”, and Luigi Di Maio summons journalists outside Montecitorio to issue a statement. He is accompanied by some parliamentarians and the Deputy Minister Laura Castelli: he wants to underline that he is not alone, he speaks on behalf of a group of which he is naturally the main exponent. “Some leaderships have failed”, he says, “they have fueled tensions and divisions: we must work to unite, to enlarge. Politics in recent days has fallen victim to itself: fortunately this stalemate was resolved by Parliament thanks also to the contribution of the prime minister Mario Draghi“. Phrases that due to the role he holds, the Foreign Minister but above all the former political leader of the Movement, are destined to create a chasm. And, to be even more precise, he adds: “I don’t comment on what is happening in other political forces, I just believe that also in the M5s it is necessary to open an internal political reflection“. Then he concludes: “I want to thank President Mattarella for his sense of institutions, for his sacrifice”. It is a public and very heavy attack which, by force and necessity, is destined to open a real internal war: Di Maio challenges the leadership of Giuseppe Conte and it does so for the first time openly. Inside the M5s it is not surprising: skirmishes have been going on for days, but the immediate breakup demonstrates the gravity of the situation.
The president m5s for the moment he is silent. Today, answering a question for Luca De Carolis of Everyday occurrence, had declared: “The time will come for internal clarifications, we are a community which discusses and in which every political exponent must answer not to the current leader but to the community of members “. An attempt to buy time, but also a way to bring to order what is now a real opponent. The first signs of a definitive breakdown in the relationship between the two arrived last night, in the midst of the crucial negotiations that led to the burning of the candidacy of Elisabetta Belloni. Under accusation is Conte’s decision to appear in front of the microphones, immediately after the announcement of Matteo Salvini (“We are working on the candidacy of a smart woman”) to try to make the operation. But not only. Someone warned Beppe Grillo who immediately tweeted with the hashtag #ElisabettaBelloni. From there on it is it all came down. While Matteo Renzi, Pd and Leu sank the ideal candidate for the 5 stars, Luigi Di Maio he spread a ferocious note of indignation for “having thrown a high profile into the public debate and without a shared agreement”. It was the beginning of the total war. Today Conte, also during the press conference, defended himself: “I have never negotiated under the table” or “the game of three cards”, he said, replying to those who accuse him of having plotted with Salvini behind the allies of the coalition ” progressive”. But this too will be a topic to be addressed: there are not only the internal criticisms of the M5s, but also the suspicions and the lack of confidence that now comes from the front Pd. Conte himself, again at a press conference, claimed Letta’s trust: “I had been delegated by the Democratic Party to negotiate with Salvini. Then I asked the secretary Letta to support me in those meetings “. So he also tried to sign the election of Mattarella who “has been made to grow in our community day by day”.
Just the operation Mattarella bis is one of the signals that inside the Movement something had been wrong for some time. In fact, a group of M5s senators which, since the beginning of last January, has begun to be the spokesperson for the idea. Always little or badly listened to or at most cleared in the name of the compactness of the group. In the meantime, they grew up, they were weaving bonds even outside the party. Is exactly Luigi Di Maio, while he saw on the one hand the votes for Mattarella in Parliament increase and on the other the total chaos of the negotiations, he decided to start supporting the operation. And even today he claimed it in front of journalists, speaking of one election “came from below”. However, those closest to do not see it that way Giuseppe Conte, who on the other hand accuse the former political leader of having played a personal match from the beginning: they accuse him of having worked before for the re-election of Mario Draghi at any cost and then to bury the candidacy of Elisabetta Belloni. In short, that the two did not tolerate each other badly had been known for some time, but the competition and hatred grew over the months. Up to explode in recent weeks, at the moment of the most complicated test for Conte’s leadership. Now the accusations are public, very heavy and the newly refounded Movement cannot help but deal with it.