Thursday, March 28, 2013
Some may see them as the representation of anti-politics. Some may see them as revolutionaries. Others still may see their leader as a clown. To most people though, they are just the crickets.
If we were to paint a portrait of general feelings about the Five Star Movement (M5S) we would probably need four or five canvases. But not in Italy. As always happens in politics - especially in countries where election weekend is considered an opportunity to support a team outside of your preferred football club - voters are divided between supporters and detractors, friends and enemies, winners and losers.
If we were to paint a portrait of general feelings about the Five Star Movement (M5S) we would probably need four or five canvases. But not in Italy. As always happens in politics - especially in countries where election weekend is considered an opportunity to support a team outside of your preferred football club - voters are divided between supporters and detractors, friends and enemies, winners and losers.
In the last national elections in February, the Five Star Movement hit the jackpot winning 25% of the vote, almost as much as the Democratic Party which was expected to win a much larger majority. Since then, as the political parties in Italy have been struggling to find improbable agreements to form a government, the Five Star Movement has stuck to its characteristic anti-establishment rhetoric. At the first gathering of the senate, the M5S representatives showed up with a can opener to symbolize their revolutionary commitment to open up the Parliament “like a can of tuna”. They have pointed out the need for transparency and direct democracy, and constantly refused to get involved in the old politics dialogue on the basis that, in the words of their “non-leader”, political parties “are all dead.”
There is no doubt that, in a country where the clash between widespread endemic corruption and a disastrous economic situation has minimized the trust of voters toward national institutions, an anti-politics approach is likely to succeed for quite a long time. But can this hold true with European institutions too?
In May 2014, EU citizens will vote for the new European Parliament. Assuming that the Five Star Movement manages to maintain its level of support, anywhere from 20-25 crickets will be unleashed in a free circulation regime and will invade Brussels and Strasbourg, almost certainly with can openers in their backpacks. And Brussels Eurocrats, already struggling against mounting euroscepticism, will face the same devastating wave of anti-politics their national colleagues have been experiencing. Or at least, this is likely, what the M5S voters will be told.
In reality, the hopes of these young Eurocrickets and their voters are likely destined to be dashed. To paraphrase the popular saying, “when in Brussels” the crickets will soon realize that, away from Rome, political parties are still alive and in very good shape. So are the political groups in the European Parliament. Outside the safe haven of national borders, where anti-politics have guaranteed the Movement widespread appreciation, the crickets will find a strong, healthy, functioning political apparatus. In this new, unexplored context the crickets will have to come to terms with their delicate identity dilemma and face the fact that what made the difference in the national election might not be applicable in EU discourse. Will they be open to renouncing their no-identity identity and end up joining a political group – for instance the Greens – thus conforming to the same rules of politics they are so eagerly trying to dismantle in Rome? If so, what would that cost in terms of their credibility at home?
To predict the future behaviour of a non-party with a non-status and a non-leader is clearly “non-possible.” One thing, however, is for sure. There is no way that can openers will get through the EP security checks.
