Grillo on X: “I’m not done with politics, I’m exhausted by politics”

Beppe Grillo continues to fuel uncertainty surrounding his possible return to politics, this time with a post on his X profile. “I’m not done with politics. I’m exhausted by politics,” reads the caption, which frames a photo of the comedian laughing from above and below, like the memes of yesteryear. Just yesterday, as a guest on the Pulp podcast, Grillo had stated: “How am I supposed to found a party, to organise it? I don’t have the power or the ability to do so, I’m afraid. I can offer input and some extraordinary ideas.”

For several months now, the former leader of the Five Star Movement has seemed to be testing the waters for a return to politics. In April, he launched civil proceedings against Conte to reclaim the party’s name and symbol. At the end of July, following the postponement of the court hearing, Grillo returned to launching a scathing attack on his famous blog: “The Movement has lost its distinctiveness. The revolutionaries have discovered the corridors of power,” he wrote in a lengthy post.

The most telling sign of this new direction came last week, when former Five Star Movement MP Marco Bella posted a photo of himself with Grillo, accompanied by a lengthy caption in which he stated that the Movement’s name and symbol belong to the comedian “not only by right but, above all, in practice”. The post then offered an ambiguous response to the most important question: “Am I helping Grillo set up a new party? I neither confirm nor deny it.” Below this was a comment from another “Mohican”, former MP Elio Lanutti, who stated that the comedian was due to visit his old headquarters, the Hotel Forum in Rome, at the end of September. Further evidence of work in progress came around the same time from Grillo’s WhatsApp status, where a modified logo of the Movement appeared, with the final ‘o’ crossed out and without stars.

The episode of the Pulp podcast featuring the special guest comedian was preceded by a trailer that had already sparked a war of words with Conte, who was dubbed ‘Reverend Jones’ and ‘the man who whispered to quibbles’. The former prime minister responded that very evening during his appearance on the programme Dritto e rovescio, declaring, “Let him say what he likes. It is no longer a matter concerning the M5S”.

Grillo currently appears intent on keeping all his options open. Whilst he and Conte continue to trade barbs over which of the two is best placed to embody the founding values of the Five Star Movement, there are increasingly clear signs that could be interpreted as a return to the political scene by the former Five Star Movement leader.