M5S, Casaleggio disintegrates the Conte era: “Pure marketing, there is no democracy from below”

“I regret what the 5 Star Movement has become today, because there is no longer popular participation and what exists is a facade.” Davide Casaleggio does not mince words when commenting to Adnkronos on the features assumed by the political creature created by his father Gianroberto and on the basic principles that have undergone several changes over the years. The founder of the Rousseau association and founding member of the Camelot project intervenes in the aftermath of the political ‘mea culpa’ made by Beppe Grillo on TV in Che tempo che fa. «Yesterday was my children’s birthday and I saw it as a second sight – admits Casaleggio -. I heard what was said, I can say that the approval of the previous management is always appreciated.” However, he does not go very far into the thoughts expressed by Grillo: “I try not to interpret the words of others, Grillo spoke for more than an hour and I think he expressed very well what he thought on his own, without any additions from my part.”

But he makes more than a criticism of the Movement today led by Giuseppe Conte Casaleggio: «Having single candidates to be approved from below or single lists already prepared is not democracy from below – he emphasizes – it is a use of pure marketing which, however, does not work , because then the electoral results will be seen.” «Each movement, each community or party must have foundations on which to rely – observes Casaleggio – and today the foundations on which the M5S was built no longer exist». For example, if participation is one of those foundations «today it doesn’t exist – note – the candidates are chosen by some people closed in a room, among other things, this is what we always complained about with the M5S when we talked about others. And now this is happening on every occasion with the Movement.” If in the past the political creature created by his father fought against public financing, “today public financing has become central to the M5S strategy – highlights Casaleggio -. We talked about pacifism and the Movement voted several times in favor of sending weapons to war contexts, something we had fought against. It’s obvious that if the foundations don’t exist, you can’t go anywhere.” According to Casaleggio, other foundations should be recreated because, “if this community, no matter how small, has other ideas, it should probably affirm those other ideas and give give them substance and perhaps even another name.”

Complaints about the Movement don’t stop here: «What I see – he comments – is that the people who lead the project today are not based on the battles we have fought over the last 15 years. This obviously causes people to become disoriented and essentially return to abstentionism. In the last elections, 6 million votes were missing, voters were angry.” Regarding Conte’s presence on the streets with the Democratic Party, “I think voters evaluate facts and ideas – he comments – if these ideas are told and then the next day the opposite is done, as for the sending of weapons, it’s obvious that people no longer believe in it.” The advice for Conte is to “give a name and foundations to your project” and not “borrow foundations that he doesn’t share”, such as popular participation. «People see that they don’t choose candidates for regional or European elections – explains Casaleggio -. In the last European elections, 5 thousand people were able to apply and all the remaining registered members, hundreds of thousands, were able to participate in their choice. Today we see this with the Regionals, the choice of candidates It’s done entirely in closed rooms and it’s a path that doesn’t work.”

Regarding his future in politics, when asked about the possibility of entering the field and doing something for the country, Casaleggio states: «We will see what happens in the future, I have always dedicated myself to building participation platforms and this is the topic I am focusing on. focusing on this period with the Camelot project.”