The Five Star Movement, Movimento 5 Stelle or M5S, is arguably Italy’s most vocal anti-establishment party, pursuing the dream of the absolute popular sovereignty. An energetic and very successful project, over the last year it has suffered a number of setbacks, and its collapse might be near. [...]
According to M5S, true democracy can only be reached by replacing the traditional representative system with full popular sovereignty. Such direct democracy would take decisions on all matters.
In this process, “the Net” is fundamental, namely the allegedly well-informed citizens grouped under the massively popular Beppe Grillo’s Blog — it is the most visited blog in Italy and among the 10 most visited in the world — and other internet media affiliated with M5S, such as TzeTze, La Cosa, il Blog delle Stelle. These sites are owned, in fact, by Casaleggio Associati, the IT communication enterprise of M5S co-founder Gianroberto Casaleggio. He was the mind behind the M5S blog system, as well as its direct-democracy and non-partisan ideology. [...]
Recent events are not helpful towards the Movement. Firstly, note the recent fuss about M5S’s switch from the Euroskeptic EFDD group in the European Parliament to the pro-Europe, liberal ALDE. Considering MS5’s philosophy, the proposal for this switch and the online voting (78% voted in favour of ALDE) are quite odd. It was not a good idea: ALDE rejected M5S’s self-candidacy to join its lines, while Farage’s EFDD imposed strict diktats on the Movement’s policies as a precondition for accepting it back into the Euroskeptic group. [...]
Secondly, the situation in Italy is similarly critical. Several politicians, including several parliamentarians and mayors across Italy, have been forced to quit because of online accusations and initiated judicial investigations against them. Mayor Virginia Raggi of Rome, a M5S member, has been experiencing a hard time over allegations of corruption in her administration, especially since last December, when her right-hand manager Raffaele Marra was arrested for illicit real-estate activities. Meanwhile, she nominated Renato Marra (Raffaele’s brother) to Rome’s Department of Tourism, a nomination she later withdrew.
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