Italy's Five Star Looks Close to Collapse
The end of the movement would create a more stable left-right dynamic, but it’s hard to feel confident in Salvini delivering essential economic reform.
Minister without leadership.
Photographer: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images EuropeThe resignation of Luigi Di Maio as leader of Italy’s Five Star Movement is a move that smacks of desperation. The populist party that gatecrashed Italian politics faces crumbling support in the polls and deep internal divisions. It’s hard to see how it can bounce back even with a change at the top.
The decision adds to the sense of instability that mars Italy’s governing coalition of Five Star and the center-left Democrats. It may accelerate its collapse if enough parliamentarians were to conclude that this government is doomed to fail. But, in the long run, Italy would benefit from a possible disappearance of Five Star. It would certainly stabilize the political dynamics in the country, giving voters a more straightforward alternative between the left and the right — even if neither of those forces appear presently to have the answers to Italy’s ills.