M5S votes to join Farage's Euroskeptic Brussels caucus

(ANSA) - Rome, June 12 - Members of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Euroskeptic caucus in Brussels of UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage on Thursday. The vote was held on the blog of M5S leader Beppe Grillo.
    Over 23,000 of a total 29,584 voters opted to join Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD). UKIP garnered the most votes of any party in the UK in European elections last month.
    Grillo, whose party got 21% of the Italian vote to finish 20% behind Premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) in the elections, had been looking into a possible alliance with either the Greens or UKIP.
    Farage said Wednesday that he and Grillo differed only on a few policies but shared an overall vision, and rejected out of hand accusations that his party was racist.
    Farage told ANSA last week that UKIP is "a democratic organization...the classic liberal party of the 1800s," in which "any form of racism, sexism or xenophobia is not tolerated".
    As proof he pointed to the fact that UKIP's constituents recently elected a Muslim businessman, an openly gay man, an individual of Roma origins and "many women".