Tag: Five Star Movement

He will run as a candidate for his center-right Forza Italia party, which, since its heyday in the 90s, has lost massive amounts of votes in the polls. ... With my knowledge, my experience and my ability to convince people, I can play an important role and make European citizens understand that we risk moving away from Western values." This time, he said he's entering politics to stop the present Italian government from gaining more votes in the European Parliament - mainly in an attempt to slow down the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, a political party that he has repeatedly called "dangerous," "inexperienced" and "incompetent." The Five Star Movement, however, shares government power with the right-wing, anti-migrant and Eurosceptic Northern League Party, which used to partner with Berlusconi in the government. The League continues to rise and lead in the polls, outstripping Five Star with more than an estimated 30 percent of the votes. "The united #RightCenter is a winner: with its values and its ideals, it is the future of Italy, Europe and the world," Berlusconi wrote on Twitter on Friday. In a letter to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Friday, Berlusconi expressed his desire to return to Catholic and liberal politics harking back to the Italian political scene after World War II. Since stepping down as prime minister in 2011 and multiple court cases - including a conviction of tax fraud in 2013, which expelled him from parliament and banned him from public office - he has continued to work behind the scenes in Italian politics. Reaction to the news that Berlusconi was running in the European elections were mixed, with some TV commentators on Thursday complimenting him on his "courage" and others dismissing it as delusional move. However, political analysts believe that his running in EU elections could still mean a 5 percent increase of votes for his waning Forza Italia party, which could give the wily politician a political bartering tool going forward.

Then he became the son. For years, Mr. Di Maio, a 32-year-old leader of Italy’s populist coalition government, attacked his political enemies by seeking to stain them with the alleged misconduct of their fathers. Recent news reports have charged that his father paid employees off the books and illegally built on his land outside Naples. On Monday, the elder Di Maio, who dabbled in post-fascist politics, posted a painful video on his Facebook page that was subsequently spread across Five Star social media. “I’m sorry for my son Luigi, who they are trying to attack,” he says, insisting his son knew nothing of his misdeeds and praising his “honesty, transparency and courage.” He demands that critics “leave my family alone” but argues that he had no choice but to hire workers off the books. Before Five Star came to power, its main target was Matteo Renzi of the Democratic Party, a former prime minister. “I’m convinced that the sins of the father should not be visited upon the sons,” Mr. Renzi wrote on Facebook after the program about Mr. Di Maio’s father aired. Mr. Renzi’s father recently wrote on Facebook that if he had done what Mr. Di Maio’s father had, Five Star “would already have launched an appeal on social networks for the return of the death penalty.” (This week, La Verità, another newspaper close to the populist government, alleged new improprieties, prompting Tiziano Renzi to deny that he and his son paid paperboys off the books when they operated a paper route decades ago in Florence.) “I’d like to look in the face Mr. Antonio Di Maio, the father of Luigi, and say I hope that he does not go through what his son and his friends put my father and my family through,” she said. Then the left-leaning newspaper la Repubblica published reports about his father illegally expanding their childhood home in Pomigliano D’Arco.

Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon told Politico that he thinks a coalition government in Italy is an experiment that could "change global politics." Bannon was discussing the new government formed between Italy’s Five Star Movement and the League, two anti-establishment parties. The parties agreed to form the coalition in May. Bannon told Politico the coalition could serve as a model for other parts of the world. “A populist party with nationalist tendencies like the 5Stars, and a nationalist party with populist tendencies like the League … it’s imperative that this works because this shows a model for industrial democracies from the U.S. to Asia," he said. Bannon spoke to Politico while in Europe to promote a Brussels-based foundation called the Movement that advises right-wing populist parties campaigning for European Parliament elections. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, a member of the League, has joined the Movement, per Politico. Politico also reported that Bannon has reached out to Luigi Di Maio, the leader of the Five Star Movement. Bannon offered praise to both the Five Star Movement and the League in his interview with Politico. “Throughout the entire world, you will not find two politicians that worked as hard as Salvini and Di Maio, for no money, leading their parties to these unbelievable victories and then stepped back and let someone else be the guy that goes to the [Group of Seven], [Group of 20] and sits in the Oval Office with Trump," he said.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is working on a cryptocurrency project to reward political activism and “provide an alternative to the financial system”, according to an entrepreneur who claims to be working on the project. Last week, during an hour-long interview with CNBC, Bannon briefly mentioned a plan to launch his cryptocurrency tokens. Neither company would comment on Wernick’s alleged investment. Sitting next to Wernick at the press conference was former Cambridge Analytica director-turned-whistleblower Brittany Kaiser, now an IOVO advisor. “[A utility token’s] primary purpose is not just as a means of speculation, but it has intrinsic value on a network. “It is the Holy Grail to be a utility token rather than a security token because you avoid all the security laws.” The very concept of "utility tokens" is, nonetheless, disputed: while the category is recognised in Switzerland — alongside payment tokens and security tokens — the US Securities and Exchange Commission is more lukewarm on the idea. Ironically, the person who many credit for initiating Bannon to cryptocurrency owes most of his recent fame to an ICO. In September 2017, Pierce said he had been talking to Bannon about blockchain technology “many, many times”, although he added that the then-White House strategist was probably too busy to pay much attention to crypto just yet. He adds he felt it was “important that educators and stewards of technology provide the understanding”. “[Bannon] has surrounded himself with people who understand the value of [cryptocurrency], and he himself is very intelligent.

Unsurprisingly, with the possibility of another election in the cards, market sentiment has shifted to risk-off in light of the political uncertainty. Three questions for Italy going forward Against the backdrop of the latest polling data, it is really hard to predict what will happen next in the political arena. What's in the cards for financial markets? Currently, we think the political risks are growing, incrementally pushing our cycle score deeper into negative territory. Combined, our building blocks have triggered a move from an underweight position to neutral for Italian government bonds, but are not yet telling us it's time to move to an overweight. The information, analysis and opinions expressed herein are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual entity. As with any type of portfolio structuring, attempting to reduce risk and increase return could, at certain times, unintentionally reduce returns. Investments that are allocated across multiple types of securities may be exposed to a variety of risks based on the asset classes, investment styles, market sectors, and size of companies preferred by the investment managers. Neither Russell Investments nor its affiliates are responsible for investment decisions with respect to such investments or for the accuracy or completeness of information about such investments. This is a publication of Russell Investments.

Conte will be the figurehead of the uneasy coalition between the country's populist parties, the Five Star Movement and the Lega Nord. Italy is set to name Giuseppe Conte, a relatively unknown law professor with hardly any political experience, as its next prime minister, according to Italian media reports. The appointment could be presented to Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella, as early as Monday. Italy's political system is unusual in that often, particularly during times of coalition government, its prime minister is not the leader of a political party but an appointed technocrat, generally put in place as a compromise between coalition partners. Conte's likely appointment fits that mold, with neither Five Star nor the Lega keen to have a leader appointed from the ranks of its partner's party. Conte — who lectures in public-administration law at the University of Florence and the University of Bologna — is by no stretch a politician. In a profile in Corriere Della Sera, one of the country's most prominent newspapers, it is said that while he has a "very long curriculum vitae," he also does not "have a clue about politics." An uneasy alliance Though neither Luigi Di Maio, Five Star's leader, nor Matteo Salvini, the head of the Lega Nord, has announced the name of his prime ministerial choice, Salvini said on Sunday that a candidate had been chosen. "It won't be me, nor Di Maio," he added. Five Star and Lega Nord are by no means natural bedfellows, but they have settled on a series of compromises that will allow them to govern after Five Star — which is the biggest single party — ruled out working with any of Italy's more established political parties.

Led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio, the party was founded less than a decade ago, but its strong performance was not unexpected. “In a way, de Magistris pre-empted this protest vote,” said Mauro Calise, a politics professor at the University of Naples Federico II. In second place, with around 23%, was the centre-right alliance, with the Democratic party, led by former prime minister Matteo Renzi, in third. “The Democratic party robbed us,” said Amato. “Berlusconi is a convicted criminal – how could we have voted for him? I support Di Maio because he seems honest. Young Neapolitans also have high expectations of Di Maio. Along with its far-right ally, Brothers of Italy, it took less than 3% of the Naples vote. Di Maio is celebrating what he called the beginning of Italy’s Third Republic, or a “republic for citizens”. The big question now is, are they going to be able to respond to this protest?

In the run-up to the Italian general election on March 4th, The Local is bringing you a daily round up of who's done what and why in the fast-moving world of Italian politics. Days to go until Italy votes: 12 We've had the final polls before voting day and the overseas votes are already making their way to be counted in Italy. Election emoji The Italian election now has its own emoji on Twitter: a ballot paper being dropped into a box decorated with the Italian flag. Only the man who's been in them longer than almost anyone else campaigning, one Silvio Berlusconi! De Luca's claim is that his rivals are seeking to discredit him and his party, the Democrats, days from the election. Italy is using a new, never before tested electoral law this year, which is why there's a new ballot paper, and also why the outcome is anything but certain. We've explain the new law in more depth here. Good news, bad news, fake news 2017 was the year of fake news, according to communications regulator Agcom, whose latest survey indicates that more and more Italians rely more and more heavily on social media for information. From the very start of the campaign, the Democratic Party accused supporters of its rivals – specifically the Five Star Movement and the League – of spreading disinformation designed to mislead voters. IN DEPTH: Forget the election, what's Italy's political system anyway?