Nick Tyrone - taking hyperbole to an epoch-defining low...

It is not often that I am moved to criticise a fellow Liberal Democrat blogger. Generally speaking, if I join in, you've probably stretched the envelope of acceptable behaviour or attacked someone I love. However, on this occasion, I'm making an exception.

In his 'interesting' posting on the ALDE Group's entanglement with the Five Star Movement, he describes the decision of the Parliamentary Group to reject the proposed entry of the Beppe Grillo led group as 'an epoch defining act of stupidity'. One might argue as to whether it was the right call or not, and there are arguments either way, but come now, Nick, epoch defining to reject a party that has no clear philosophical basis except whatever Beppe thinks when he gets up in the morning? Methinks one protests too much.

And whilst Nick claims to spent time around ALDE and other European liberal parties, and I have no reason to doubt that, he may not be talking to the people I talk to as a member of the ALDE Party Council. I am more than aware of the accusations of fake news generation that whirl around M5S, and of their views regarding the Euro and the future of NATO. Indeed, the proposed deal included a provision that their MEPs would be members of the ALDE Group but not bound by its whip, something which smacks of a 'marriage of convenience'.

Perhaps there was a prospect of a coming together of M5S and European liberal forces leading to an evolution of the former into a genuinely liberal party, and perhaps such an evolution will take place eventually. Personally, I've seen too many personality driven parties disintegrate once the key personality quits or implodes to be that confident, but one learns not to presume anything - something doubly true when considering Italian politics.

But there is no point admitting one dubiously liberal grouping only to lose a number of established ones in protest. ALDE is already a coming together of social liberal and economic liberal parties whose shared objectives outweigh the disagreements. Adding M5S to the mix would be one step too far for a number of them.

So, encourage M5S down a path towards a genuinely liberal grouping in Italy with an informal agreement to work together on issues where the agenda is a shared one by all means and, if they demonstrate that there is a potential place for them amongst the Liberal family, then fine, let's talk about some more formal relationship. But until then, the idea that you invite people to be the flag bearers for liberalism who oppose some of its core tenets for political advantage isn't an epoch defining act of stupidity, it's a demonstration that a political party has to maintain some core principles, lest it forget why it exists in the first place.

And finally, Nick suggests that, in his time spent around ALDE and other European liberal parties, the one thing he noticed again and again is a lack of understanding about how politics basically works. I disagree, obviously, because I'm one of those stupid European liberals he so disparagingly refers to. I might find myself wondering just how successful Nick's brand of politics is, given that there are seven ALDE Prime Ministers, and five Liberal Commissioners, and that the number of Nick Tyrones in government is how many exactly?

But he's entitled to his opinion and I'm entitled to mine. And I think that Nick needs, on some future occasion, to come to an ALDE Party Congress and meet some of the people I meet and talk to them. But as he loathes them - his words, not mine - I'm not sure that a meeting of minds is very likely. Perhaps becoming a member of the Five Star Movement and trying to influence them towards liberalism from the inside might be more palatable to him than spending time with his fellow liberals?

One moment, there were stars, the next... ALDE decide to walk on the mild side...

Well, that was quick, wasn't it? No sooner had Italy's Five Star Movement decided to proceed with applying to join the ALDE group in the European Parliament than the latter chosen not to accept them.

In retrospect, it feels like the right move. Whilst the proposed deal seemed to address a number of issues of mutual agreement, the unreliability of M5S and their, at best, unorthodox view of how media ethics should be applied, represented some serious red flags.

It was an interesting proposal though, with the two sides intended to commit to the promotion of policies such as the simplification of the Brussels bureaucracy, resolving the immigration emergency via a system of permanent relocation, the promotion of the green economy and the development of the digital economy together with more job opportunities. There wasn't too much there to concern the liberal family.

However, the lack of adherence to a Group whip was somewhat troubling, implying that ALDE were a flag of convenience serving to give M5S a route to greater influence within the European Parliament.

It would have potentially tied M5S to a position of being in favour of the European Union, some progress from their stance hitherto, and there is an argument which suggests that bringing the populists into the mainstream acts to defang them of their less appealing views. Some might argue though that, if you lie down with dogs, you risk getting fleas.

A brief discussion amongst members of the Federal International Relations Committee exposed some significant reservations, and the news that the deal had collapsed met with some approval when news broke just as the meeting was coming to an end this afternoon. It will indeed be interesting to see what the ALDE Party make of events, when they meet in Ljubljana in early June.

Unlikely but strangely likely? The Five Star Movement abandon UKIP for liberalism?

Today's news that Beppe Grillo, the leader of Italy's Five Star Movement (M5S), has called an online vote on his recommendation that they leave the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) Group and switch to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE) is something of a bolt out of a clear blue sky. There had, after all, been no suggestion that such a move was being contemplated, and to move from being aligned with UKIP to being aligned with the Liberal Democrats is a bit of a plot twist.

The strange thing is, when they entered into a grouping with UKIP in the first place, it seemed like an odd choice. After all, the five stars represent public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, access to the Internet and environmentalism - not exactly things that you would associate with Nigel Farage and Paul Nuttall. As an avowedly populist party though, they didn't appear to sit entirely comfortably anywhere, and given that the European Parliament tends to favour a coming together of national delegations into groups, and UKIP were sorely in need of allies, perhaps a loose arrangement with UKIP suited both parties nicely. And loose apears to be the right word, given the claims that the M5S only voted with UKIP about 20% of the time.

There is nothing amongst their five core priorities that jars with the ALDE platform, and their enthusiasm for direct democracy and e-democracy hardly rules out closer working.

So, if members of the Movement, voting online, accept the recommendation, one presumes that talks will commence regarding the transfer from EFDD to ALDE, albeit that it seems unlikely that some discussions haven't already taken place. It may be a bit ragged - there are already suggestions that some of their seventeen MEPs are less than entirely keen - but it would reduce UKIP's influence in the Parliament and make ALDE the third largest group in the Parliament once again.

What this doesn't necessarily mean is that the M5S will be joining the ALDE Party - the ALDE Parliamentary Group is somewhat larger than the ALDE Party, consisting as it does of members of the ALDE Party, the European Democratic Party plus the odd independent.

There is undoubtedly a space for a liberal party in Italian politics. Whether or not the Five Star Movement is that party is still to become clear, but they do at least offer a potential starting point...