The Five Star Movement was an Italian big tent party which was founded on 4 October 2009 by comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo. Its "five stars" were public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, right to internet access, and environmentalism, and it branded itself as pro-transparency and anti-corruption movement which did not fit into the left-right paradigm. The party called for politicians' salaries to be reduced, for the use of an online platform to vote on candidates and legislation, for support for environmentalism, for the overcoming of social inequality, for less immigration, and for a basic income. The party was often described as populist and Eurosceptic, labels which it rejected, and the party had wide support, especially among young voters. In 2013, the party won 25% of the vote and became the country's second-largest party, also winning the city councils of Turin and Rome. In 2018, the party, led by Luigi Di Maio, became the largest individual party in the Italian Parliament and entered government, forming an alliance with the fellow populist party Lega Nord to form the "Government of Change". While the Five Star Movement did not share the far-right inclinations of Lega, it refused to cooperate with the country's corrupt traditional parties, and it agreed with Lega on the issues of immigration and the European Union. In 2018, the party held 109/315 Senate seats and 221/630 Chamber of Deputies seats.
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