M5S, this is how Conte aims to corner Grillo starting from the revolution of online voting –

Edward Sirignano

July 29, 2024

The era of the Hotel Forum, of closed-door meetings in Rome, is coming to an end. Giuseppe Conte, through the letter in which he rejects Beppe Grillo’s preventive indications, in fact puts an end to the Movement in which there was the “holy man” who preached from above and the people who suffered his decisions. The characteristic of the next Constituent Assembly, as explained by the former prime minister, will be precisely “participatory democracy”. This will take place with the help of an agency, an independent body specialized in managing collegial decision-making processes. There will no longer be, except in the role of “observer, the Movement’s general staff”. A turning point that, therefore, excludes that magic circle, which until now has managed everything in these latitudes, among other things at a high price. A challenge, therefore, to the founder who does not sit back and declares war against those who, with the excuse of maximum involvement, intend to first exclude him and then cut his salary. The comedian even speaks of an “identity crisis”, of confusion among the stars, of a lack of clarity. The hope is that this base, which has been in revolt for months, can cut the plug on the centralizing leader with its battle cry.

That said, that crafty Giuseppì, internal sources reveal, has an ace up his sleeve and it’s called a double mandate. Among Beppe’s faithful, in fact, there are mostly former parliamentarians, or people who can return to the game only if that cornerstone, untouchable until now, is overcome. This is why Grillo will find himself at a crossroads: keep the group of “rebels” united, which includes big names of the caliber of Virginia Raggi, Roberto Fico, Chiara Appendino and Alfonso Bonafede, or defend at all costs the original values, for which he is considered credible and authoritative. In the event that he were to declare himself available to overcome this obstacle, Conte, in fact, could not only recover those exes who daily put a spoke in his wheels, but above all he would be certain of having at his side those parliamentarians of his in their second mandate, see the Patuanelli on duty, who would have no difficulty in being welcomed in the corridors of the Nazareno, if the Movement did not guarantee him the seat. The only ones to be aligned, without ifs or buts, with the former prime minister are the deputies and senators elected in 2022, at the tail end of the summit to try to hold on to their seats.

In this case, however, the results of the latest continental elections weigh heavily. The European data, the nightmare of being able to go below 10% again, scares and not a little those who have as their only thought the reconfirmation. Then there is the issue of alliances. Not everyone, in fact, is willing to go behind that PD, which now leads the coalition. This, for the experts, could be the only weapon that is able to allow the Ligurian to keep the compact ranks of the old block, which still feels tied to that alternative force, which should have kept itself away from the traditional political subjects and certainly not be absorbed as the worst current.