Italy's Five Star Leader Celebrates Poll Triumph In Hometown 7 March 2018

Rapturous applause welcomed Luigi Di Maio, the charismatic leader of Italy's triumphant anti-establishment Five Star Movement, in his hometown on Tuesday, even as supporters pondered how the party could come to power.

Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Mar, 2018 ) :Rapturous applause welcomed Luigi Di Maio, the charismatic leader of Italy's triumphant anti-establishment Five Star Movement, in his hometown on Tuesday, even as supporters pondered how the party could come to power.

Hundreds cheered Di Maio in Pomigliano d'Arco, an industrial town near Naples, as the beaming 31-year-old stepped on the stage under the rain. "We have made history," Di Maio told the crowd after his party scooped up almost 33 percent of the vote to become Italy's single biggest party, although it fell short of an overall majority to be able to form a government.

In Pomigliano, where the party won 65 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, Di Maio was greeted with a sea of yellow balloons -- the colour of the Five Star Movement.

"We won this election, we are the absolute winners," he said.

But the maverick party, which only entered parliament for the first time in 2013, would need the support of other parties in order to be able to govern. The issues is sensitive though -- any perception of cosy deals with other parties risks alienating its core support from Italians angered by traditional politics.

"They have to make alliances to be able to govern," said Arleta Fabricatore a 45-year old teacher. "We don't mind who they align themselves with as long as what they propose gets done." The movement has called for a universal basic income scheme, a cut in income tax, a raise in pensions and a programme to slash Italy's infamous red tape for businesses.