FILE PHOTO: 5-Star movement leader Luigi Di Maio speaks during the final rally for the regional election in Palermo, Italy, November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

ROME (Reuters) - The leader of Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement which leads opinion polls ahead of a March 4 election said on Tuesday that pulling Italy out of the euro zone was no longer a goal of his party.

5-Star has steadily rowed back on a previous commitment to hold a referendum on Italy’s euro zone membership as it tries to reassure voters and investors that it can be trusted with power.

“I believe it is no longer the right moment for Italy to leave the euro,” Luigi Di Maio said in an interview with state television company RAI. “The referendum is a last resort which I hope to avoid,” he added.

Di Maio has previously said that 5-Star will only pursue the idea of a referendum on the euro if it is unable to win any concessions from its partners to soften euro zone fiscal rules.