Forget about Strasbourg, it’s Rome that will make or break the Five Star Movement

On 9 January, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe rejected a request from Italy’s Five Star Movement (M5S) to join the group in the European Parliament. Daniele Albertazzi states that although the incident constituted an embarrassment for the M5S at the European level, a far more pressing priority for the party will be to ensure it can maintain its anti-establishment appeal among Italian voters.