Italian populist candidates boast they're non-politicians.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Populists aiming to govern Italy for the first time have tapped many middle-class professionals from outside politics as their candidates for March 4 national elections.
Luigi Di Maio, the 5-Star Movement candidate for premier, on Monday introduced some candidates in Rome.
The 5-Stars, founded by comic Beppe Grillo, insist they're not a political party but a grass-roots movement. They claim they are neither on the political right or left.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Opinion surveys indicate they're currently the most popular political force but won't win enough votes to govern on their own. Di Maio recently reached out to both left-wing former Democrats and the right-wing, euro-skeptic, anti-migrant League party for a possible post-election alliance and Parliamentary majority.
Di Maio boasted that 5-Star candidates possess "excellence" and "humanity" and together make a "super-competent" team.