Beppe Grillo – The Talking Cricket

The talking Cricket Il Grillo Parlante is a fictional character created by Carlo Collodi which appeared in his 1883’s book The Adventures of Pinocchio (Le avventure di Pinocchio). It did represent the conscience of that boy, Pinocchio, and indeed of every good boy.

In Italian cricket is translated into ‘grillo’ like Beppe Grillo, the former comic that has transformed himself into a powerful Italian political leader. A case of reality more fictional than fiction. His ‘Five Stars’ movement can now be considered the largest single political party in Italy and he achieved this goal by speaking directly to the people in the squares of Italy and through his blog: http://www.beppegrillo.it.

He is still dismissed as joke by most political analysts and commentators but they may be proven wrong at the end. He cannot be said to sit on the right, left or center of the political spectrum, because he collects votes from all sort of people using two powerful weapons: common sense and truth. Italian citizens know how to use reason and intelligence to form their own ideas.

The big question remains if this wide consensus could be transformed into good deeds, and so far there is no hint that this will ever happen. In the land of Machiavelli we should remember that when a prophet is not capable to deliver and to defend himself and his followers, will certainly face ruin.

As a small example of his powerful rhetoric I would like to offer a short translation of his latest blog. This sober assessment was posted yesterday evening, May 1st, 2013 in which he criticize the tired form of celebrations connected to May Day, and what a ‘ship of fools’ seems to be our Nation.

May Day used to be workers day. Now we should call it unemployed day and the day of the great concert in Rome. Once upon the time we had the ‘panem and circenses’, now we are left with the ‘circenses’ only. But only once a year, in the tribune no longer sit Caligula or Diocletian, but the three representatives of the Trade Unions. Every minute in Italy a company close, the official unemployment rate has reached the level of 38.4%. Italy is a Nation of unemployed, retired in waiting, pensioners and emigrants. In the past the boys from the south emigrated to the North, to Milano, Turin, Bologna. Now the boys from the south together with those from the north are going abroad. They are all people with a diploma or with a university degree. It is like bloodletting, an emorragia of intelligence. Italy is the second European Nation after Rumania for the number of émigrés. The country stands on nothing. On empty talking and opposing positions mixing together to protect their own interests. The tax income is falling with the disappearance of companies and workers. On the highways the traffic has decreased by 34% in one year and the restaurants on the same highways (Autogrill) are empty. Italy is grinding to a stop like a giant machinery struck by rust, one cogwheel at a time. Four million civil servants, ninetten million pensioners, half million people living on politics, all this is unsustainable for a country having no growth for the last 15 years, with a GDP falling starting from well before the crisis of 2008. The celebrations of the 1st of May are a tired rite to absolve all those responsible: trade unions, industrialists which are ‘predators’ of public works, political parties. It is a celebration broadcasted on all the main TV channels of Caporetto (the point in 1917 where the Italian front collapsed) and the 8th of September (8 of September, 1943. Italy switched side from Germany to the Allies). The new prime minister ‘Findus’ Letta (meaning frozen tuna…) promises cuts and re-cuts without any money left while in the streets people are dancing. An happy day, for a day, which gives a rancid smell such as the 2nd of November (end of WW1 in Italy) for the workers. The leftist syndicate CGIL said that the nephew of his uncle (meaning Enrico Letta, nephew of Berlusconi’s right arm man Gianni Letta): ‘Did well to touch many points (in his parliamentary speech) which were first raised by our Union; that is a proof of sensitivity and capacity to listen.’ Prosit.

Il primo maggio era la festa dei lavoratori. Ora è la festa dei disoccupati e del concertone a Roma. C’erano un tempo “panem et circences”, sono rimasti i circences, ma solo una volta all’anno con in tribuna, al posto di Caligola o Diocleziano, i reggenti della Triplice Sindacale. Chiude un’azienda al minuto, la disoccupazione giovanile “ufficiale” ha raggiunto il 38,4%. L’Italia è diventata una Nazione di cassintegrati, esodati, disoccupati, precari e emigranti. In passato erano i ragazzi del Sud a emigrare al Nord, a Milano, Torino, Bologna. Adesso i ragazzi del Sud e del Nord emigrano insieme all’estero. Laureati, diplomati. E’ un travaso di sangue, di intelligenze. L’Italia è la seconda nazione europea per numero di emigrati dopo la Romania. Il Paese si regge sul nulla. Chiacchiere e inciucio. Il gettito fiscale e Irpef sta crollando per la scomparsa di aziende e lavoratori dipendenti. Il traffico su strada è diminuito in un anno del 34%, gli autogrill sono deserti. L’Italia si sta fermando come una grande macchina colpita dalla ruggine, un componente dopo l’altro, fino all’immobilità. Quattro milioni di dipendenti pubblici, 19 milioni di pensionati, mezzo milione di persone che vive di politica sono insostenibili per un Paese senza sviluppo da 15 anni, con un Pil in discesa libera ben prima della crisi del 2008. Festeggiare il Primo Maggio è uno stanco rito assolutorio dei responsabili, dei sindacati complici, dei “prenditori” di appalti pubblici di Confindustria, dei partiti che hanno occupato lo Stato. E’ la celebrazione di Caporetto e dell’otto settembre a reti unificate. Capitan findus Letta promette tagli e ritagli senza alcuna copertura economica e in piazza si balla mentre la cassa integrazione sta finendo. Un’allegria di un giorno che ha il profumo forte e rancido del 2 novembre dei lavoratori. La Cgil ha detto che “è un fatto positivo” che il Nipote di suo Zio abbia “toccato molti punti che sono stati sollevati anche dai sindacati”, ciò denota “sensibilità e attenzione all’ascolto”. Prosit.