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| Five Star Italian | Five Star Italian |
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| You describe Beppe Grillo as an "essentially irrelevant figure" (The Right Italy, 21 February). This is missing the point. It is precisely because Grillo will not take part in the formation of the next Italian government that he is the one to watch. Italian voters now have a channel through which to voice frustration about the current state of Italian politics, including EU-mandated austerity. Grillo's Five Star Movement looks set to win a significant number of seats in both chambers of the Italian parliament (possibly beating Mario Monti) making it a strong anti-austerity and anti-euro opposition force, and a constant populist thorn in the side of the next Italian government – whatever shape it takes. Perhaps as a taste of things to come, a recent rally in Piazza Duomo in Milan organised by Grillo drew a crowd of some 35,000. A far cry from "irrelevant". Vincenzo Scarpetta Researcher, Open Europe | You describe Beppe Grillo as an "essentially irrelevant figure" (The Right Italy, 21 February). This is missing the point. It is precisely because Grillo will not take part in the formation of the next Italian government that he is the one to watch. Italian voters now have a channel through which to voice frustration about the current state of Italian politics, including EU-mandated austerity. Grillo's Five Star Movement looks set to win a significant number of seats in both chambers of the Italian parliament (possibly beating Mario Monti) making it a strong anti-austerity and anti-euro opposition force, and a constant populist thorn in the side of the next Italian government – whatever shape it takes. Perhaps as a taste of things to come, a recent rally in Piazza Duomo in Milan organised by Grillo drew a crowd of some 35,000. A far cry from "irrelevant". Vincenzo Scarpetta Researcher, Open Europe |
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