Direct Democracy and Scapegoats: The Five Star Movement and Europe

Italy is one the most europhile countries in the European Union. Nevertheless, as surveys show, over the last few years anti-European sentiments have increasingly surfaced among Italian citizens. Furthermore, there is now an important novelty regarding the relation between Italy and Europe: the Movi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International spectator 2014-01, Vol.49 (1), p.53-64
Main Authors: Corbetta, Piergiorgio, Vignati, Rinaldo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advocacy
Beppe Grillo
Citizens
Democracy
Direct Democracy
Euro
Eurocurrency market
Europe
European Union
euroscepticism
Five Star Movement
Internet
Italians
Italy
Membership
Movimento 5 Stelle
Political leaders
Political movements
Political parties
Populism
Referendum
Surveys
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Summary:Italy is one the most europhile countries in the European Union. Nevertheless, as surveys show, over the last few years anti-European sentiments have increasingly surfaced among Italian citizens. Furthermore, there is now an important novelty regarding the relation between Italy and Europe: the Movimento 5 Stelle (The Five Star Movement), a new party that expresses a peculiar and contradictory position towards Europe. Its leader, Beppe Grillo, sometimes advocates more, not less, unification, but he also proposes a referendum on Italian membership of the euro. Moreover, Grillo's blog frequently lends its voice to the choir of openly anti-European sentiment. Indeed, Grillo's call for direct democracy is plebiscitarian and his positions contribute to the weakening of a European project that is already facing grave difficulties of its own.
ISSN:0393-2729
1751-9721
DOI:10.1080/03932729.2014.875822