Abstract

The foundation of the “Five Star Movement” political party in Italy was officially declared in 2009. The article analyzes the steps taken by Beppe Grillo, Gianroberto Casaleggio and their supporters on the path to success in the parliamentary elections in Italy in 2013. The author unlocks the mechanism of the functioning of the social movement which seems to have no clear management structure. The article examines the reasons why the “Five Star Movement” emerged in the political arena precisely in the early 2000s. The main stages of the building of the Movement are identified: the first stage in 2005–2009, the second stage in 2009–2013. The author considers unusual forms of social mobilization: the Genoese comedian’s blog that united many of his supporters on the Internet; Meetup platform, which made it possible to shift communication away from the Internet to the format of personal meetings of Beppe Grillo’s supporters; the “central squares” of Italian cities format, which became the main site for the V-Day tours (2007) and V2-Day tours (2008). Using the blog, citizens who were not indifferent to the fate of Italy discussed topical issues and engaged in fierce discussions, sometimes directly with B. Grillo. In its turn, the Meetup platform made it possible to organize meetings of the Genoese comedian’s supporters in every city in Italy, and also to unite groups of people whose goal was to solve the local problems of their town or region. The “central squares”, where B. Grillo made speeches, helped not only to attract the electorate, but also to change the agenda for local groups organized through the Meetup platform. Gradually, the vector of attention shifted from local problems to the national level. The relevance of the topic of this study is determined by the significant role the “Five Star Movement” plays in the political life of Italy as a phenomenon that does not fit in with the framework of the old concepts of political parties and movements. Studying the activities of the supporters of Beppe Grillo, Gianroberto Casaleggio and the “Five Star Movement” at the initial stages enables us to understand key trends in the development of political mood within the country.