Salvini girds for first clash with Five Star

Bloomberg

Just days after a rousing European election victory, Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini is gearing up for a new clash with his weakened coalition ally over a corruption case involving an official from his own League party.
The tussle over Deputy Infrastructure Minister Edoardo Rixi, who’s among politicians linked to a probe dubbed “Crazy Expenses,” has triggered new tension between the League and its partner the Five Star Movement before a court ruling due on May 30.
Salvini’s rightist League wants Rixi to keep his job whatever the verdict, while Five Star, which has long campaigned to clean up Italian politics, has repeatedly called for his dismissal if convicted.
“I’ll do what I’m told,” Rixi said in an interview Tuesday at the lower house of parliament in Rome. “If I’m useful I stay, if I’m not useful I don’t stay. The real issue is that you cannot manipulate judicial investigations in this way,” he said.
Fresh tension between the two coalition partners is likely to keep financial markets on edge as the government and EU face a budget standoff.