The Left group has decided to welcome the Five Star Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle – M5S). To confirm political convergence, the Left and M5S have agreed to take six months with reciprocal observer status. Although the co-presidents of the EU Left, Manon Aubry of La France Insoumise and Martin Schirdewan of Die Linke, avoided any contact with M5S after the June elections, the group decided to give a chance to the Italian populist movement. After all, M5S will add eight more seats to the Left’s 39 seats.
Since June 2019, the populist Five Star Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle) has wanted to break free from the isolation of the Non-attached group in the European Parliament. M5S experienced a drop in votes in the last European elections, passing from 17.1% in 2019 to 10% and losing six seats.
However, the party of former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte first opted for the Greens and then for the Left. The Greens rejected any contact with the Movement. Bas Eickhout and Terry Reintke said in a press point that there are no ongoing negotiations with Conte’s party as the Greens accept members on the condition that they are “pro-European, pro-democratic, and pro-Ukraine”. M5S opposes sending weapons to Ukraine and is a fervent supporter of Xi Jinping‘s Belt and Road Initiative.
The M5S emerged as a movement of young people deeply disenchanted with politicians and political parties. The economic crisis that hit Italy at the end of the previous decade facilitated the movement’s rise. In 2014, it scored big in the European elections with 21.6% of the vote, securing 17 seats in the European Parliament. In the general elections at home in March 2018, it emerged as the first party with 32.68% of the vote, securing 227 seats at the Chamber of Deputies and 112 Senators. On June 1, M5S formed a coalition government with the far-right League.
Also, M5S’s past alliances in the Parliament have complicated its relationship with progressive parties.
The M5S was one of the two pillars of the anti-EU integration Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD) at the European Parliament. Of the EFDD’s 43 MEPs, 18 belong to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) of Nigel Farage and 17 to the Italian party. The group also accepted the white supremacist Sweden Democrats, now a member of the ECR. In the 9th European Parliament in 2019, the EFDD accepted the AfD, expelled by the ECR, the Patriots (Les Patriotes) of the former vice president of the Front National (FN) Florian Philippot, the souverainist Debout la France of Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, and the Polish far-right KORWiN party. EFDD was dissolved in June 2019, and the M5S joined the Non-attached Group. The party’s attempt to join the ALDE group also has failed.
In a statement today, the Left group said, “We are confident that we will cooperate in a constructive and productive way to confirm convergence between The Left and M5S, to work together for the people and the planet.”
In addition, the co-chair of The Left, Manon Aubry, emphasised that the decision was made in agreement with the other Left’s Italian member, Sinistra Italiana.
Aubry added, “We ensured that M5S aligned with our political stance. The Left is the group that represents antifascism, fights for workers’ rights, pursues ambitious climate action, and opposes austerity. We reaffirm this commitment and are pleased to do so with an even larger group. We are the primary opposition to the Von Der Leyen coalition and serve as a bulwark against the extreme right and their racist and sexist ideas.”
Pasquale Tridico, Head of the M5S delegation in the European Parliament, expressed gratitude to The Left group and all its members for engaging in a productive dialogue during the Bureau meeting and for the warm welcome.
“Over the next five years, we are committed to collaborating with our new colleagues to advocate for a more socially conscious Europe, opposing poverty and austerity policies. Additionally, we will actively pursue a diplomatic solution in all the war zones, recognising the urgent need for peace across Europe and the world,” Tridico said.
