I distrust Beppe Grillo. Not as much as Berlusconi, but I distrust him.
His movement reminds of the
Fronte dell'Uomo Qualunque.
During WWII, a magazine appeared in Italy,
L’uomo qualunque (The Everyday Man), opposed to a multiple political parties regime and to the role of the State. On the first issue, it was in line with Fascism; on the other, it was agaisnt it. It was against politics and politicians.
En 1945, its director, Guglielmo Giannini, proposed a "neutral government, headed by an accountant, to be in charge for one year and not be re-elected". Since in Italy even people who hate politics make politics and people who hate political parties make political parties, the Front of the Everyday Man was born.
Giannini tries the Front to go with the Liberal Party (remember that Liberals in Europe are rather conservative), but the great historian Benedetto Croce, leader of the Liberals, opposes.
What characterized the
qualunquisti? They were against limits for freedom, against taxes, against "the thief government", "abusive businessmen" and "corrupt unions". The
Fronte dell’Uomo Qualunque got over a million votes in the 1946 elections. It was in opposition to the National Unity government that was formed after the war.
In 1947, the United States press their European allies to exclude the left wing parties, and the Christian Democrats in Italy ask the
qualunquisti to be part of a new coalition.
Giannini says yes, and with this, signs the death penalty for his party. The members, dissilussioned because the leadership was seduced by the evil Political Power, leave the Front in flocks... many of them end in the Neofascist movements.
Beppe Grillo's movement is bigger, but has several limits.
One is the dependance of a charismatic leader (a problem Italy has had since the times of the Caesars).
Other is the fact that some of its adherents come from the extreme left; others, from the extreme right, and many from the center-left and center-right. You can't take any positive strategic decision without maddening a big group of followers. So Grillo stays put with negative decisions.
As a bonus, the logo of the
Fronte dell'Uomo Qualunque: