The Five Star Movement (M5S) is trying to deny this (but not completely) and is counterattacking after the excommunication of the Movement's founder and former guarantor, Beppe Grillo, who has pointed the finger at the widespread use of the seat-filling law promoted by Solinas, which has expanded the number of positions on the staff of the Council, now headed by Todde, with salaries exceeding half a million euros for a single legislature.
"Grillo received €300,000 a year from the Movement and used it to try to destabilize it," the Sardinian Five Star Movement replied. "He tried in every way to undermine the M5S and Giuseppe Conte, because he never accepted the incontrovertible vote of no confidence from his own political community , nor the fact that Conte enjoys the broadest possible support within the Movement."
According to the Sardinian Five Star Movement, Grillo "is driven by anger and resentment. October 4th is the Movement's birthday, not his. October 4th is the celebration of Saint Francis, not those who distort him to gain a few moments of fame." Grillo had recalled the Franciscan values that inspired the first Movement, contrasting them with those now focused on "personal enrichment."
Grillo speaks about Sardinia without knowing its territories, according to those who currently represent the Movement on the island. In past years, when he was still the guarantor, "the Movement's regional councilors never had the pleasure of engaging with him. We're pleased that he now receives and accepts the input of someone who has left the Movement, but he would do well to educate himself before writing completely inaccurate posts, full of false information that doesn't represent the truth. After all, we've gotten used to it: every time Grillo has spoken about Sardinia, he's gotten it wrong, and this time is no exception," they emphasize.
The former guarantor named some of his staff members, also reporting their generous salaries: "But Cinzia Pilo and Mariassunta Matrisciano haven't worked in Sardinia for months: the figures he attributes to them depict a reality that doesn't exist. And he himself is forced to admit that everything is legal and published with complete transparency on the Region's website. If he can make that list today, it's because this council makes every assignment public."
The Sardinian Five Star Movement's statement glosses over another nominee, Luca Caschili, Todde's plenipotentiary in Sardinia (who earned €39,691.59 in the first quarter of 2026 alone). However, the president's spokesperson, Jacopo Gasparetti, does mention: "We don't believe it's shocking that a professional is paid in line with the salaries of professionals at his level. However, there is one aspect that should give pause for thought: an 80-year-old publicly attacks and discredits a 30-year-old. And to think, it was Grillo himself who spoke about the importance of young people for our country." Furthermore, "it should be remembered that the salaries of cabinet chiefs are set by law (Regional Law of Sardinia, August 26, 1988, no. 32, art. 28) and have nothing to do with the law on youth promotion. Yet another inaccuracy," they add.
The M5S Sardinia elaborates: "Law 107 of 2021 reformed the Presidency Office, but it doesn't apply to every regional office. The 'hundred or so consultants'" that exist "actually include all staff positions, from cabinet staff to press offices, which in the past were reported elsewhere. Grillo doesn't say a word about the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP): over 9,000 projects to be implemented and reported on by European deadlines, with a regional workforce below 30%. Nor does he say a word about the savings of a government that chose not to assign positions it could legitimately assign, starting with department heads, thus protecting regional coffers worth millions of euros. The 5 Star Movement doesn't take lessons in Franciscan morality from those who use it to attack others and have never followed it themselves," they conclude.