Italy's Five-Star vows to govern on behalf of citizens, shun shady lawmakers

Rome, March 22 (IANS/AKI) Luigi Di Maio, leader of Italy's grassroots anti-establishment Five-Star Movement, which had become the largest party in the new parliament, has pledged to govern Italy on behalf of citizens and bring social justice to the country.

The populist party has vowed dialogue with other political forces but said it would not accept as parliament Speakers lawmakers who are standing trial for criminal offences or who have criminal convictions.

"Our time in opposition is over and the era of Five-Star government is beginning: we will be up to this challenge and will show that politics can be done differently," Di Maio wrote on Facebook.

"We will use our numerical strength and power to do what citizens have been asking us to do for some time, starting with eliminating injustice and introducing social equality - first of all with the budget."

Referring to the almost one-third of votes that his party won in the national election, Di Maio wrote: "We want the Five Star Movement's extraordinary achievement on 4 March to be recognised."

"But we won't do to other political forces what they have done to us: there will be the maximum amount of dialogue with all to appoint the best speakers for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

"We believe that the speakers of the lower and upper houses of parliament must represent these institutions in a dignified and honourable way, so we won't accept convicts or people who are on trial," Di Maio underlined.

Di Maio on Tuesday said he hoped lawmakers in Italy's new parliament - where his party has the largest number of seats - would elect Five-Star lawmaker as speaker, saying this was essential to curbing parliamentary pension privileges among other reforms.

Five-Star is the biggest party in the new parliament after winning 32.68 percent of votes in the inconclusive March 4 national election, and has claimed it should get first bid to try and form a government.

The far-right League party, leader of the centre-right coalition which won around 37 percent of votes - the biggest share - also claims the right to govern Italy and is also eyeing at least one of the parliamentary speakerships.

--IANS/AKI

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