Giuseppe Conte rejects rearmament and presents 20-point M5S platform in Milan

The Nova platform in Milan

Giuseppe Conte presented the programmatic conclusions of the Five Star Movement's two-day Nova assembly in Milan on 19 September 2026. The participatory initiative gathered 17,000 participants across 2,000 working tables and 105 local meeting points, functioning as open forums for democratic dialogue. Conte noted that nearly half of those who attended were not formally registered members of the movement, reflecting an expanded political base. The assembly produced a 20-point platform designed to establish the party's policy conditions before entering formal negotiations with allies in the centre-left coalition. Conte stressed to the crowd that he would not permit these foundational proposals to be diluted into routine political compromise during inter-party negotiations.

This mandate honors me and makes me responsible, and I will try to fulfill it with the utmost determination, firmness and clarity; do not think that I am willing to dilute it.

Foreign policy and opposition to rearmament

A definitive rejection of rearmament and the war economy formed the centerpiece of Conte's foreign policy remarks. The Five Star Movement leader declared that transferring weapons to Ukraine counteracts peace efforts, calling instead for a diplomatic pivot after four and a half years of military confrontation. Conte argued that Italy must act as a pioneer for cooperative security in Europe, stating that European populations would support negotiations over increased military deterrence. He insisted that national financial resources should be redirected away from armories and weapons production toward pressing citizen needs, such as schools, nurseries, scientific research, and university innovation.

It seems to me that a clear and precise mandate emerges, we must build paths to peace, with war we get nowhere. Weapons push peace away.

Domestic policy and economic priorities

On domestic policy, Conte detailed the immediate actions a future progressive government would take upon entering office. He pledged that the very first cabinet meeting under their leadership would abrogate recent justice reforms and security measures that criminalize civil protest and political dissent. Addressing the economic rationale for hosting the gathering in Lombardy, Conte described Milan as Italy's economic capital at a time when the nation is experiencing zero economic growth and multiple industrial supply chains face distress. He referenced his tenure during the pandemic, asserting that his previous administration demonstrated how to restart the country's economic growth. Conte also paused his speech to send warm wishes to former parliamentarian Alessandro Di Battista, who returned to Italy on 18 September 2026 after dealing with health difficulties.

League assembly in Pontida

While the Five Star Movement convened in Milan, League federal secretary Matteo Salvini addressed a youth gathering in Pontida at 19:00 on 19 September 2026. Speaking ahead of the 36th annual Pontida gathering, Salvini called for party unity bridging northern and southern regions, urging activists from Calabria, Piedmont, Lombardy, and Campania to work together. Salvini stated that fiscal federalism and regional autonomy represent concrete legislative achievements resulting from decades of party mobilization. The two concurrent political events in Lombardy demonstrated divergent strategies within Italian politics, as the Five Star Movement prepares to conclude online member voting on its 20-point platform on 20 September 2026.