Ruptures are starting to show in Italy’s populist coalition as anti-immigration moves by Matteo Salvini, interior minister and leader of the far-right League, unsettle senior politicians from his ally, the Five Star Movement (M5S), and the party’s core voters.

Voters from across the political spectrum flocked to the anti-establishment movement founded by TV comedian Beppe Grillo in 2010. They were attracted by its stance on corruption, but also by the party’s pledge to help small businesses, slash red tape and lift people out of poverty, and by its emphasis on the environment. But two months into the M5S-League coalition government some have major doubts. Last week Roberto Fico, M5S MP and president of the chamber of deputies, spoke out against a controversial pact with Libya that sees migrants forcibly returned to war-riven north Africa.(theguardian)…[+]