Five Star Movement chaos continues as court suspends Conte’s leadership

Italy’s troubled Five Star Movement, a key part of the coalition government, was plunged into fresh turmoil on Tuesday after a court decision effectively removed its leader............................................. Former Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte was elected President of the Five Star Movement in August 2021. Photo: Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP A Naples court on Monday suspended changes to the party’s internal rules that allowed the election of former prime minister Giuseppe Conte as M5S leader last August. The court had been asked to consider the case following complaints by Five Star supporters excluded from the leadership vote. “We can’t deny it, the situation is very complicated,” Five Star founder Beppe Grillo – who would now appear to resume control – wrote in a Facebook message on Tuesday. In 2018, the then proudly anti-establishment movement shook Italy and Europe by winning one-third of the vote and joining forces  with the hard-right League party to create a populist government led by Giuseppe Conte, who supposedly a neutral choice agreed on by both parties.