Comedian/activist/blogger Beppe Grillo has stated in his blog that he is ready to enter politics, as a candidate for the left-wing PD (Partito Democratico). This after years of pronouncing conventional politics obsolete and ineffectual. Understandably, his prospective fellow party-members are somewhat bemused.When I started this blog two years ago, the Beppe Grillo phenom was in full bloom and I had some expectations. Well, for me at least the flower has wilted.
In the meantime, Beppe the populist and regular-guy was found to have a decidedly non-regular-guy income. After having trashed the mainstream media on a regular basis, the MSM were only too glad to report that he pulled down the unpopulist sum of 4,272,591 euros in 2006. And this was before his major fame came in 2007. Light has also been shed to the effect that the grass roots movement was not so grassy after all. At the very bottom of the Grillo site home page, you will find the words "Credits: Casaleggio Associati." Why the English? Perhaps to obscure the fact that the site is not so much a personal blog as a product of viral marketing. It is the brainchild of a firm whose business is e-commerce, as you can see on its home page. Money, honey.
As for the viability of a party of grillini, as they call themselves. Take a good long look at his blog if you want to get a taste of what a Grillo-governed Italy would be. One person (Beppe in his posts) in the spotlight, ranting against almost everyone and everything. Followed by a disjoined mass of hundreds or thousands of commenters speaking about whatever they like. No real dialogue between Beppe and his commenters or between the commenters themselves. Hasn't this already been done in Italy? Isn't it in fact being done now?
