Grillo has last laugh as Renzi resigns
Comedian turned politician gains momentum for his left-leaning, anti-establishment party
ROME — When Beppe Grillo started to make headlines as the leader of Italy’s biggest protest party more than six years ago, it was hard to avoid the puns. A comedian-turned-politician, Grillo was laughed at and branded a “clown.”
But by 2013, the laughing subsided, and German magazine Der Spiegel already had called him “the most dangerous man in Europe.” Three years later, he may finally be living up to that description, his critics say.
On Sunday, a majority of Italians voted against legislative revisions in a referendum, according to major exit polls. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who had pushed for the changes and was forced to call the referendum, handed in his resignation Monday.
Renzi’s resignation could ultimately sweep Grillo’s left-leaning and anti-establishment Five Star Movement party into power — and throw Europe into an economic and potentially political crisis. Grillo has for years advocated a referendum on Italy’s euro zone membership status. Such a referendum would destabilize Italy’s fragile economy and, particularly, the country’s banks. The value of the euro immediately fell after news of Renzi’s defeat.
Grillo appeared confident about the future prospects of his party, when he tweeted: “A lesson for everyone: you can’t lie forever to the people without suffering consequences.”
Despite strong differences between Grillo and Donald Trump — one is a comedic actor-turned-political activist; the other is a real estate executive turned novice politician-turned-president-elect — the two are now frequently being compared in Europe. The Italian comedian himself made such remarks in an interview after Trump’s victory: “Our movement has some similarities,” he said. “We became the first political movement in Italy, and the media didn’t even realize it.”
Similar to Trump’s “drain the swamp” political message, Grillo has taken a strong anti-establishment and anti-corruption stance, accusing Renzi of preventing economic and anti-corruption reforms. The movement’s five stars stand for “public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, the right to Internet access and environmentalism.” Above all, though, the party (which considers itself not a party but a movement), stands in opposition to the leaders who have governed Europe over the past few years, during which the continent struggled to deal with economic austerity. Italy has been particularly hardhit, with a current youth unemployment rate of 27 per cent.
Referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Grillo said in an interview with the Financial Times last year: “They have a kind of illness, it’s called alexithymia, which means difficulty recognizing the emotions of others: pain, pleasure, joy ... They don’t care if they have to put tens of millions of people into hunger to balance an account, it’s collateral damage. We’ve entrusted our lives to people who know nothing about life,” he said.