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QE for the People: Comedian Beppe Grillo's Populist Plan for Italy Thursday, 07 March 2013 09:15 By Ellen Brown, Truthout
Comedian Beppe Grillo was surprised himself when his Five Star Movement got 8.7 million votes in the Italian general election of February 24-25. His movement is now the biggest single party in the chamber of deputies, says The Guardian, which makes him "a kingmaker in a hung parliament."
Grillo's is the party of "no." In a candidacy based on satire, he organized an annual "V Day Celebration" - the "V" stands for vaffanculo (f - k off). He rejects the status quo - all the existing parties and their monopoly control of politics, jobs and financing - and seeks a referendum on all international treaties, including NATO membership, free trade agreements and the Euro.
"If we get into parliament," says Grillo, "we would bring the old system down, not because we would enjoy doing so, but because the system is rotten." Critics fear, and supporters hope, that if his party succeeds, it could break the euro system.
A polar bear display for the zoo. Free towels at public swimming pools. A “drug-free Parliament by 2020.” Iceland’s Best Party, founded in December by a comedian, Jon Gnarr, to satirize his country’s political system, ran a campaign that was one big joke. Or was it?
Last month, in the depressed aftermath of the country’s financial collapse, the Best Party emerged as the biggest winner in Reykjavik’s elections, with 34.7 percent of the vote, and Mr. Gnarr — who also promised a classroom of kindergartners he would build a Disneyland at the airport — is now the fourth mayor in four years of a city that is home to more than a third of the island’s 320,000 people.
In his acceptance speech he tried to calm the fears of the other 65.3 percent. “No one has to be afraid of the Best Party,” he said, “because it is the best party. If it wasn’t, it would be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party. We would never work with a party like that.”
With his party having won 6 of the City Council’s 15 seats, Mr. Gnarr needed a coalition partner, but ruled out any party whose members had not seen all five seasons of “The Wire.” nytimes.com
