ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the emergence and development of the Five Star Movement (5SM), a party created by comedian Beppe Grillo, its co-founder and inspirational leader. A brief account of the origins and nature of this movement – which in 2009 was transformed into an actual party – is followed by a closer analysis of those aspects of the 5SM that render it the fullest, purest and most multi-faceted expression of anti-politics in modern-day Italy. The 5SM comprises a combination of the hard-line, explicit anti-politics of right-wing parties and the participatory anti-politics of the left. By giving voice to the political disorientation and desperation consequent to the 2008 financial crisis, Grillo's party won a record number of votes at the 2013 and 2018 general elections, particularly in the southern regions of Italy. The process of institutionalisation that the party underwent following its election to positions of power within the nation's institutions entailed however the “betrayal” of many of the anti-political promises that the movement had made during its early days. In an attempt to curb the consequent disillusionment of its activists, and to preserve its successful image as an anti-political party, the 5SM was to use its privileged institutional position to impose a series of distinctly anti-political measures. The most important such measure was the reform of the Italian Constitution reducing the overall number of parliamentarians (in the two houses of parliament – the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies) from 945 to 600, which was finally approved by referendum in 2020.
