L’antipolitica

Italy’s election result was not a great surprise insofar as Grillo’s M5S movement was concerned. By the time the election came round it was clear that the Grillini (though not all would be happy to be called so) had managed to garner a significant portion of the vote and that they would have an important impact on the final result. The Movimento 5 Stelle represents the first huge European movement that posits itself in direct opposition to the old style of doing politics. It is not a political party but rather an anti-political party – a movement that is combatting the old style of doing politics.

So far so good. The M5S has catapulted itself to the position of largest party insofar as number of votes go. Its leader (or image man), who cannot himself run for office because of the movement’s self-imposed strict rules (Grillo was charged with involuntary homicide over a car accident in 1981) is taking a side-role which he has enigmatically compared to that of Lucius Quinctus Cincinnatus. The movement cannot and will not govern. Without any experience in managing a nation, the M5S probably sees this situation as a best case scenario – in a protagonist’s position that can observe, learn and where necessary filibuster or block. The M5S may have been vociferous about the ills of the nation but proposing solutions beyond the cleansing of the political methodology was never within its style.

The Italians or at least a good third of them voted once again for il Cavaliere. It says much of an electorate when a good part of it still views a convicted tax evader (among other things) as a proper option for representation and governance. On the other hand Italy’s left (the moderate centre-left variety) has proven once again that it finds it ever so hard to send out a convincing rallying call that wins a sufficiently large chunk of the vote.

The election result turns out to be a mix of anti-politics and investment in the two old post-92 blocks with Mario Monti’s group registering a disappointing figure. Was austerity on people’s minds when they voted? I’m not too sure it was the primary consideration. A vote for Berlusconi meant voting for a figure who has made no secrets of his disdain of European or German plans for facing the economic crisis. A vote for Bersani would have been a vote towards the Merkel way. The M5S is a popular movement that gathered around the immediacy of the net in a sort of post-modern proto-communist method of aggregation. Admirably it survived the dangers of infighting sufficiently to face the election as a unified force. It is not too strong on policy and is mostly a mani-pulite reprise that is more directly active in the political sphere. Monti’s group represented the measures taken until now and the electoral result clearly shows what the italians think of that.

Where does antipolitics take us? First of all this is the beginning of the concretisation of the fact that a sufficiently large number of voters recognise the need to do away with the old-style politicians who have taken us for a ride. Antipolitics and its representatives are not the final solution or the antidote to old style politics but rather they are a provocation – a catalyst for the need for change that comes from without and not from within. It would be mistaken to judge the success or failure of antipolitical movements such as M5S by whether or not a government is formed or whether or not stability is guaranteed.

Their mission is not governance or stability. Their mission is to force the hand of the nation to change. It is Lampedusa turned on its head:

Se vogliamo che tutto cambi, bisogna che tutto cambi.

Fiat iustitia et pereat mundus.