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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi claims the Five Star movement would ‘destroy’ Italy
Mr Berlusconi made his dramatic claim as he campaigned on behalf of his Forza Italia party in advance of the country’s forthcoming general election confirmed he backed controversial Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini as Interior Minister.
Speaking on the La7 news channel, Mr Berlusconi took aim at M5S, led by Luigi Di Maio, which is currently flying high in the polls with current projections suggesting it will collect 27.3 percent of the vote in March 4’s vote – more than any other single party.
The unorthodox party is considered populist, environmentalist, anti-globalist, and Eurosceptic, and is regarded with enormous suspicion among political veterans such as Mr Berlusconi and EU chiefs.
Mr Berlusconi said: “I feel like a young man in the field.
“I’ve always got tired of politics, I’ve never liked it and I do not like it even now.
“But I have always felt a strong duty to be in the field, and now so the country does not end up in the hands of a dangerous sect called M5S, which would destroy the country and the middle class with all kinds of taxes”.
Mr Berlusconi’s remarks are indicative of the nervousness the rise of Ms5 has induced within the country’s political mainstream, and this sentiment has been echoed outside of the country by European commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici.
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MS5 leader Luigi Di Maio with the party’s founder, comedian Beppe Grillo
‘I have always felt a strong duty to be in the field, and now so the country does not end up in the hands of a dangerous sect called M5S’
Speaking in Rome yesterday, he said: “We have always been attentive to the needs of Italy because we know that it is a great country, a country at the heart of the Eurozone.
“The only hope I have, on the political level, is that the next Italian government, whatever it is because Italians are the ones to vote, is a pro-European government.”
Mr Berlusconi is currently barred from running for public office as a result of his conviction for tax evasion in 2012 – but this has not stopped him from re-entering the political fray, and the 81-year-old is even now seeking to overturn his ban by taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
He did not completely rule out his chances. He said: “I consider it unlikely because I know the timing of the decisions of the Strasbourg court.
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Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini is favoured by Mr Berlusconi for the role of Interior Minister
“If I went to Palazzo Chigi [the official residence of the Italian PM], Salvini could go to the Interior Ministry.”
Forza Italia, Lega Nord and two other Italian political parties have joined forces in a centre-right coalition which is likely to pick up around 37 percent in the election, and in an indication of the power which he continues to wield in the country, Mr Berlusconi also suggested he was in a position to play the role of kingmaker.
He said: “If I’m not part of the government, there will be a very authoritative Prime Minister, who will certainly be able to solve all contrasts.
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European commissioner Pierre Moscovici has hoped the next Italian government is “pro-European”
“I have a name in the drawer, but I will not reveal it.”
“We cannot leave the euro and even Salvini is absolutely convinced of it, I think he uses this tool diplomatically to scare Europe, which, with another exit, would be over”.
Mr Salvini would be a controversial choice for the powerful interior ministerial role.
An avowed Eurosceptic, he opposed same-sex marriage and is a high-profile supporter of US President Donald Trump.
(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.)