Italy’s “Five Stars” movement and the role of a leader: Or, how charismatic power can resurface through the web

Abstract

By focusing on the case of the Italian political movement "Five Stars", founded in 2009 by former comedian Beppe Grillo, this article will analyze the resurfacing of a particular kind of power -charismatic authority -through a platform such as Web 2.0 that was expected to promote more rational consensus strategies. Although the political action of the Five Stars movement pretends to be inspired by a participative culture, it is in fact directly ruled by the founder via his blog, with a little space allowed for discussions. In this sense, the rise of Grillo as a political leader seems to both retrieve and renew an old form of authority grounded in a very traditional legitimacy -the charismatic and undisputed leadership of the boss -while at the same time being able to spread through the network. This article will offer an overview of events and also provide a theoretical interpretation.

Magic and Politics: Conspirituality and COVID-19

“…Recently, a now independent deputee named Sara Cunial, elected with the M5S, has been the protagonist of a conspirational speech in the Parliament and has been celebrated by many of my Pagan interlocutors. On M5S, see, for example, Dominijanni 2014 ; Miconi 2015 ; Ventura 2018 .…”

Hyperpartisan news: Rethinking the media for populist politics

“…The Internet facilitates more direct connections between populists and the people and allows non-elites greater access to arenas of communication (Engesser et al, 2017) At the same time, the exclusionary aspect of right-wing populism and its anti-immigration stance is mirrored in the Internet’s tendencies towards echo chambers and filter bubbles (Engesser et al, 2017). It is little surprise then that social media has become a central campaigning tool for populist candidates (Miconi, 2015). Although, as Postill (2018) cautions, we cannot immediately assume that the relationship between populism and social media is a monopoly that excludes other ideologies.…”

Face attack in Italian politics

“…His concern for social and environmental issues in his comedy routines increased over time, and turned into political activism in the early 2000s. After joining forces with web strategist Roberto Casaleggio, Grillo launched an online blog in 2005, which soon became one of the most visited websites in the world (Natale and Ballatore 2014, 108;Miconi, 2015Miconi, , 1044. Grillo used the blog not just to spread his ideas via "incendiary political communiqués" (Natale and Ballatore 2014, 107; italics in original), but also to mobilise like-minded citizens against what he decried as the failures, inadequacies and corruption of Italy's political establishment.…”

“…These tendencies are often stigmatized by his detractors as populist tactics to attract "protest" votes, and are indeed among the characteristics that Grillo shares with other politicians who have been associated with a populist style of leadership in contemporary Europe (Wodak et al 2013). Grillo has also often been accused of hypocrisy for running M5S as a "personal party" and for his lack of tolerance for any form of internal opposition (Biorcio 2013;Diamanti 2013;Bidussa 2014, Miconi 2015. He has, however, so far been faithful to his stated intention not to stand for office himself.…”