Luigi Di Maio: “Have the powers that be changed the Movement? Ask the powers that be!”

“Have the powers that be changed the Movement? I won’t comment on that – ask the powers that be!” These were the words of Luigi Di Maio, the European Union’s Special Representative for the Persian Gulf, in response to a question from "Il Foglio" at Montecitorio, following his hearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee on the crisis in the Persian Gulf. His presence in the Chamber of Deputies could not have come at a better time: just this morning, the founder of the Five Star Movement, Beppe Grillo, had once again attacked Conte and his new policy direction. And what better opportunity to seek a comment from the man who served as the Movement’s political leader for years and helped it reach 33 per cent. The former Foreign Minister commented on the comedian’s remarks as follows: “These statements are linked to the fact that a ruling is due on the party symbol. So it is only natural that one faction should invoke the founding and fundamental values to claim a share of, or the integrity of, that symbol.”

In his latest blog post, Grillo writes that “The Five Star Movement has lost its identity and, above all, has lost its ‘diversity’” and that “they’ve got big heads without reading the instructions”. The former political leader’s immediate reaction comes after that of Giuseppe Conte and is something of a novelty: the former Deputy Prime Minister is not in the habit of speaking about the past, even following the lengthy interview he gave to Corriere della Sera a few weeks ago. Indeed, before the start of his hearing before the Committee, he sidestepped questions by quipping: “You’re all here to ask about the Strait of Hormuz, aren’t you?”

On his arrival at the Chamber of Deputies (no stop at the barber’s this time – his hair had already been cut), Di Maio walked through the smoking room, greeting several colleagues who are still members of the Movement. But that wasn’t all: he also greeted Peppe Provenzano of the PD, Benedetto della Vedova of +Europa (who had been Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs precisely when Di Maio was minister) and several journalists and reporters. During the hearing, the former Deputy Prime Minister also spoke about Giorgia Meloni: “I believe Italy has done something very interesting with regard to security and defence: it has invited Saudi Arabia to join the GCAP programme (the programme launched by Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan to develop an air combat system, ed.) for the new sixth-generation fighter jet.” And on Iran: “Neither we nor the United States want an Iran with the atomic bomb, but for Europe the only solution is a diplomatic agreement.” Post-revolution diplomacy.