Italy’s Conte Takes Role With Five Star for New Phase of Career
- Ex-premier to help shake up one-time anti-establishment force
- Party, plagued by infighting, has lost ground in opinion polls
Giuseppe Conte
Photographer: Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse/Bloomberg
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Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who led two Italian governments despite having no party affiliation, is positioning himself for a new political career by siding with the Five Star Movement, the biggest force in both of his coalitions.
Conte will draw up a plan to overhaul Five Star, which was born as an anti-establishment movement but has since gone more mainstream, the party said on its Facebook page. The ex-premier took on the job after a meeting with party leaders, including founder and ex-comic Beppe Grillo, in Rome on Sunday.