Beppe Grillo’s anticipated “delicate message” arrived promptly at 11:03 AM, as promised, carrying the weight of a declaration of war against Giuseppe Conte and his supporters within the 5-Star Movement (M5S). “I don’t recognize you anymore,” Grillo declared, accusing them of transforming the once revolutionary movement into a bland centrist party. In an eight-minute video marked by a calm tone and emphatic gestures, Grillo metaphorically portrayed himself driving a hearse—a symbolic indictment of the movement’s demise. While blaming Conte’s leadership, Grillo acknowledged his own passivity as a guarantor of the movement’s values. Hints of a new political creation emerged, though shrouded in mystery: “It will be something wonderful; I have an idea, but I’ll reveal it later.”
Grillo lamented the erosion of the movement’s foundational principles over the past three years. “The Movement is dead, but its humus lives on,” he stated, suggesting that a new, vibrant initiative could emerge from the fertile ideological ground of M5S. He criticized Conte for ignoring dozens of proposals and for leading a party Grillo no longer recognized. The video was peppered with pointed barbs: Conte was described as suffering from a “compulsive repetitive syndrome of mirror projection,” while the party’s online voting processes were dismissed as a ploy to marginalize Grillo and dilute his influence. Yet, despite his frustrations, the comedian-turned-politician remained optimistic about the potential for renewal.
Grillo’s remarks also alluded to a deeper legal strategy. He hinted at challenging the 2022 statute that formalized Conte’s leadership, suggesting its invalidation could automatically remove Conte from power. While he did not explicitly address this in the video, Grillo attacked what he called the party’s “transformism,” accusing it of morphing into a generic progressive entity akin to the Christian Democrats of old. Still, the founder’s critiques were not without irony, as many observers pointed out that M5S’s current state owes as much to Grillo’s past decisions as to Conte’s leadership.
