The 5 Stars Movement and the Ambivalent Role of Beppe Grillo

Grillo’s representation role within the 5Stars-Movement and his relationship with the followers are ambivalent, and even contradictory. On the one hand, Grillo claims to be the “megaphone of the people” and acts as a “facilitator” (Castiglione) for deliberation, on the other he exercises power over activists, operates as a filter in the external communication, and is the owner of the movement’s symbol. Grillo seems to oscillate between three different roles regarding representation: 1) as a populist leader, by presenting himself as “one of the people” while claiming to guide the people. 2) as the embodiment of the movement (Lefort), by exercising centralistic control over the movement and presenting himself as the embodiment of power (as by swimming the strait of Messina like Mussolini), and 3) as a delegate, by offering himself as a megaphone. The paper will scrutinize Grillo’s rhetoric concerning these roles and its contradictions.