Grillo attacks the M5S and Todde once again: “He’s exploiting the system to secure a position.” And the new logo reappears

Yesterday, Beppe Grillo went back on the offensive against the Five Star Movement. On the feast day of St Francis, the comedian published a lengthy statement on his blog entitled “Oggi è il 4 Ottobre. And everything’s fine”, in which he refers to what he claims are the party’s original values: a political force, he wrote, “was inspired by Franciscan principles and founded on 4 October 2009, whose vision was that of serving within institutions to improve the lives of citizens, rather than seeking personal enrichment”. This time, the former party leader has set his sights on Sardinia and the so-called ‘job-creation law’, passed in 2021 by the centre-right regional government led by Christian Solinas. At the time, the M5S, in opposition alongside the PD, had strongly contested the legislation, accusing the majority of creating a proliferation of posts and consultancy roles. Grillo has pointed the finger at the Movement which, having come to power in the region as part of the coalition led by Alessandra Todde, did not repeal that law but instead exploited its provisions to appoint advisers and collaborators. “For a political force inspired by St Francis, had it ever come to power in Sardinia, the very first item on the agenda should have been to abolish this law,” he wrote. “Has this law actually been abolished? No, it has been exploited. By the very people who wanted to abolish it.”

Grillo then went through a number of appointments made by the Region, citing figures and remuneration published on the institutional website. Among the examples he cited were Jacopo Gasparetti and former M5S senator Mariassunta Matrisciano, for whom he reported contracts totalling over 592,000 euros gross over a period of 58 months, as well as other staff members in the cabinet offices. “All the above amounts, and many others which can be found with complete transparency on the Sardinian Regional Government’s official website, are perfectly lawful,” Grillo clarified, emphasising that these involve “around a hundred external consultants and collaborators in various capacities”. He then delivers a final jab: “Today is 4 October. And everything is fine. Because nobody is saying anything about the principles and values of St Francis. And that is precisely the problem.” 

At the same time, a photo of a Mars rover with the flag of the ‘Zero Stars Movement’ superimposed on it has appeared on his WhatsApp profile – a symbol the comedian had already publicised back in September. The image has prompted journalists and commentators to speculate about a possible new party for the former leader of the Five Star Movement, who in recent weeks has continued to fuel uncertainty surrounding his possible return to politics, through meetings with former M5S MPs and a post on his X profile. “I’m not done with politics. I’m exhausted by politics.” 

Sardinia’s President Todde (and Conte’s former deputy) has long been in the founder’s sights. As we recall here, the first attack took place in October 2024 against the decision to impose a moratorium on renewables, followed by another in February 2025 regarding the waste-to-energy plant that Todde authorised in Sardinia. Two further posts on Grillo’s blog in June 2026 again criticised Todde’s anti-renewables stance. She has become the textbook example used to show the old Grillo community how Conte’s Movement is now ‘something else entirely’.

A response has come from the Sardinian Five Star Movement members. “Grillo received 300,000 euros a year from the Movement and used it to try to destabilise it. He has tried every possible means to undermine the M5S and Giuseppe Conte, because he has never accepted that he was unequivocally rejected by his political community, nor that Conte enjoys the broadest possible support within the Movement. He is driven by anger and bitterness, and this post is yet further proof of that. 4 October is the Movement’s birthday, not his. 4 October is the feast day of St Francis, not of those who distort his legacy in a bid for a few hours’ fame.” So said the Sardinian branch of the Five Star Movement, responding to the post published by the comedian regarding regional appointments. “Grillo talks about Sardinia without knowing its territories. In past years, when he was still the Movement’s guarantor, the Movement’s regional councillors never had the pleasure of a discussion with him. We note that he is now taking cues from someone who has left the Movement, but he would do well to inform himself more accurately before publishing posts containing false information that does not reflect the truth of the matter. In any case, this is not unusual: on every occasion Grillo has spoken about Sardinia, his statements have been inaccurate, and this time is no exception. The Five Star Movement – the statement concludes – does not take lessons in Franciscan morality from someone who uses it to attack others and who, first and foremost, has never followed it in his own life.”