by David Allegranti
ROMA (Public Policy) – The clash between Giuseppe Conte and Beppe Grillo has therefore come to an end and is destined, even through legal means, to change the face of the 5 stars. The definitive break came with the non-renewal, announced by the president of the M5s, of the 300 thousand euro consultancy contract with the former comedian (“Beppe Grillo is responsible for a counter-communication which undermines the reasons for a contractual collaboration”, said Conte), but in reality it is just a detail in the prolonged battle between the co-founder of the M5s and the current leader.
For months the two discussed the opportunity to change the party’s symbol and the possibility of eliminating the last rule that keeps the 5 stars anchored to its “revolutionary” past, that of the limit of two mandates in the institutions. Conte is in favor of a transformation – including a scenographic and communicative one – of the M5s, he even believes that the mandate limit rule is outdated. But the only seriously political element in which the differences between the two are linked to a different vision of the world concerns the relationship with the Democratic Party. Grillo also reiterated this in his latest video statement, when he spoke about the elections in Liguria (which will end today) and in Emilia Romagna, explaining all his skepticism for the alliance with the left: “If we want to be sober and also a intelligent, it is clear that there is something not right”, said the co-founder of the M5s: “And also these elections that are taking place in Liguria and Emilia Romagna, but the candidates who support this progressive movement of left… So, but who voted for them? Was there a bottom-up vote? Would this be democracy from below? No, they were catapulted from above, placed there, the usual games of old politics. There is no democracy from below, it is low democracy.”
If the centre-left, which supports the former Minister of Justice Andrea Orlando, will miss the regional lessons in Liguria also due to the divisions of the M5s, then Grillo will have been right in the tug of war with Conte. But this will also be a problem for the M5s’ ally, the Democratic Party, which already now, in the current conditions, cannot count on a stable traveling companion. An ally who has internal problems and who would however like to establish with whom the Democratic Party and the M5S itself can ally themselves or not (not with Matteo Renzi, for example).
The M5s as we have known it so far is therefore over, perhaps in reality it had already ended at the time of Luigi Di Maio’s split. Conte’s arrival certainly contributed to transforming it into another party. The era of populism is certainly not over, on the contrary, but even for the M5s – or what will become of it – the time has come to review itself, to adapt to the context. Conte, despite the skirmishes with Elly Schlein, does not seem to have the intention of starting isolated and solo duels.
Grillo, on the other hand, who calls together the survivors of a world that no longer exists, is convinced that the original 5 stars still have something to say. Will the former comedian found a new party? In this case the prospects can only be those of isolationism. The original M5s also drew its strength from its (alleged) anthropological diversity, which made it incompatible with the other parties. It was a structurally opposition party, which exceeded 30 percent in the elections by virtue of its hostility to the traditional system, to the Palace. Perhaps there were very specific historical reasons and perhaps that era is now over, given that the Government already has those who have been in opposition all their lives (Fratelli d’Italia and Giorgia Meloni), therefore the space for protest is for now already occupied by former professional protesters. Grillo would have to invent something totally new to remain in the wake of populist identitarianism, the one that leaves no escape for the Counts of the moment. But how many would follow him today? (Public Policy)
@davidallegranti
