Italy's Five Star Movement Splits With UKIP In European Parliament

Gregorio Borgia / AP

Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) has voted overwhelmingly to join the liberal ALDE group in the European parliament in a move that sees it breaking ranks with the Eurosceptic group that includes UKIP and joining forces with one of the most pro-EU figures, Guy Verhofstadt.

The decision of M5S members in an online vote – announced without warning on Sunday night by party co-founder and former comedian Beppe Grillo – to leave the Eurosceptic EFDD group means EFDD is now just above the minimum threshold needed to stay in place as a parliamentary group and access places on committees, speaking slots and, crucially, additional funding.

The news of a deal between ALDE leader Verhofstadt, the former Belgian prime minister, and Grillo was met with astonishment and anger both in Rome and Brussels, as well as by MEPs on both sides. If approved by the liberal group, the marriage between one of the EU’s staunchest advocates with one of its loudest critics would constitute a significant U-turn for both parties.

In a now deleted post on Facebook from 2014, Verhofstadt wrote: “It is impossible for any responsible, pro-European group to take the M5S on board."

In 2015, Grillo described Verhofstadt as “unpresentable” and added him to a list of people who should be kicked out of the European parliament.

In his blog post announcing the vote, Grillo said there was no point sticking with UKIP because Nigel Farage's party had achieved its goal with Brexit.

In response, Farage said: “Grillo will now join the Euro-fanatic establishment which supports TTIP, mass immigration and an EU army, but oppose direct democracy. 5 star have joined the EU establishment.”

According to Grillo, the liberals were the only group open to talking with his party. The Greens had refused to enter negotiations, he said, and a Green MEP tweeted on Monday that the former comedian was a liar, and only after positions for his party.

Reports suggested the Greens were concerned about M5S policies on immigration and European integration as well as the party’s unclear relationship with the private firm Casaleggio Associati led by Davide Casaleggio, the son of the party’s late co-founder Gianroberto Casaleggio.

In November, BuzzFeed News revealed that the Casaleggio firm is behind a string of websites that regularly publishes clickbait content, conspiracy theories, and fake news. The websites, which the firm describes as independent, also publish highly partisan pro-M5S content on Facebook.

BuzzFeed News understands that most liberal MEPs were kept in the dark by Verhofstadt during weeks of negotiations, with many finding out about the talks only after Grillo’s announcement.

There is now widespread discontent and discomfort within the liberal group, with many MEPs left puzzled as to why a party that promises to hold a referendum over leaving the euro is being allowed to join the liberal group.

All but one of a handful of MEPs BuzzFeed News spoke to said they strongly oppose the M5S joining the group. One MEP described it as “scandalous”. Another said it was a cynical ploy by Verhofstadt to secure votes (the M5S has 17 MEPs, and would make ALDE the third-largest group in the European parliament) in his bid to become the next president of the European parliament. In a video announcing his candidacy, Verhofstadt said that “Europe is threatened by nationalists and populists of all kinds".

The one MEP open to the idea said they were reassured by the party’s commitments to environmental protection. The M5S has voted with ALDE about 50% of the time, more than with UKIP, according to analysis by VoteWatch.

A third MEP suggested that about a third of the group are against Verhofstadt’s deal, and there were signs on Monday that opposition to the deal was growing. Several others raised concerns about the ammunition the move would give opposition parties as well as the potential impact teaming up with a party viewed as populist could have on their respective national electorates.

The French MEP Sylvie Goulard, who stood against the former Belgian prime minister in the race to become the group’s candidate for parliament’s presidency, published a blog post detailing her opposition to the marriage. The MEP said the differences between ALDE and the M5S are “sizeable”, citing the party’s protectionist trade tendencies, Grillo’s description of Brexit as an “extraordinary success”, recurrent attacks on German chancellor Angela Merkel, and the party’s pledge to hold a referendum on the euro.

“The deep questions are barely raised,” Goulard concluded.

A copy of a document outlining the agreement between Verhofstadt and the M5S, leaked online, sets out the rationale for the relationship. It touches upon shared core values of freedom, equality, and transparency as well as promising a drive to renew the EU and a push for greater direct democracy.

The deal also sets out in writing the positions the M5S would gain, as well as the Italian party's pledge to support Verhofstadt’s bid for president of the European parliament. If that bid is successful, the M5S would also support his leadership of the liberal group, the agreement says.

However, according to the MEPs BuzzFeed News spoke to, the deal fails to address numerous concerns. As well as the economic and trade issues raised by Goulard, there are worries about the M5S’s views on foreign policy issues.

The M5S has repeatedly called for sanctions on Russia to be dropped as it has pivoted towards more Kremlin-friendly positions in recent months. One of the party’s top MPs has claimed a coup took place in Ukraine, and that the EU and the US were involved in a campaign of disinformation and interference there.

The party has tabled a parliamentary question asking for relations with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to be normalised. And the M5S has protested against Italian troops being used in NATO training exercises in the Baltic.

A leading M5S MP tweeted on Sunday evening that the party’s positions on a euro referendum and NATO would not be altered by joining ALDE.

Shortly after the M5S vote, ALDE’s youth wing called on the liberal group to not let the Italian populist and anti-establishment party to join the group.

In recent weeks Grillo has toughened the party’s stance on immigration and called for the suspension of Schengen, the agreement that allows passport-free travel within Europe. More recently, whereas Verhofstadt has taken a seemingly tough stance against disinformation, fake news, and Russian interference, Grillo has pointed the finger at mainstream media outlets, accusing them of fabricating news stories. Earlier this year he suggested a jury of randomly selected members of the public should decide whether a news story is fake or not.

The ALDE executive committee is set to meet on Monday afternoon, with the broader group scheduled to meet Tuesday. MEPs told BuzzFeed News the agreement would be not be easy to overturn.

However, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian liberal parties are all reported to be against the arrangement, with the former Estonian prime minister tweeting his discontent.

Grillo’s decision to call the vote divided opinion within his party. A number of the party’s MEPs and MPs took to social media to say they were confused at being asked to join a pro-EU group. But others said they supported the decision on the basis that the party’s independence would be maintained.

In a blog post addressed to Farage after Monday’s vote, Grillo again praised the “extraordinary” Brexit result.