5-Star Movement (M5S) founder Beppe
Grillo said Thursday he would like to "kick" League leader and
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini back into the interior ministry
after the rightist populist leader was accused of absenteeism
while flitting about Italy on police aircraft.
"I rate Salvini's ideas on the same level as dialogue in a
spaghetti western," said Grillo, a stand-up comic who co-founded
the M5S ten years ago with the late tech whizz Gianroberto
Casaleggio.
"I'd kick him and send him back to do his work at the
interior ministry," said the founder of the M5S, a populist
anti-establishment party which governs in partnership with the
League.
"But we're in government, we must be more cautious," Grillo
said in an interview to be published by Corriere della sera
newspaper's 7 supplement Friday.
Salvini replied by saying that "the insults of (M5S political
leader Luigi) Di Maio and Grillo are not useful".
"The League wants to continue to work, if the 5 Stars want to
continue to quarrel or have nostalgia for deals with the Left
let them say so clearly.
"If Di Maio and Grillo are thinking of going ahead insulting
me and the League and Italy every day I don't think it's a
useful thing".
Di Maio has slammed Salvini for sparking a surge in the bond
spread by saying Italy will break the 3% EU budget deficit limit
next year.
Di Maio went on to say "Salvini shouldn't take it so hard,
Griullo was only joking" - to which Salvini shot back "Grillo
makes people laugh while I'm doing a minister's job".
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