Protest party leader Beppe Grillo calls for millions to join him in Rome in protesting "the coup"

[BelgianMadCow]

After the traditional parties PD (lead by Bersani, but he had to resign the other day), the PDL (lead by Berlusconi) and the center bloc around Mario Monti had voted for the current president, Napolitano, to get another term, the leader of the protest party M5S, Beppe Grillo, has called this a coup, and is calling for the millions of voters of M5S (they actually got the most votes, but not seats) to descend on Rome and peacefully protest "for as long as it takes" against this.

Grillo had called off a demo foreseen for this evening, because of public order concerns. There will be one tomorrow, and they're planning to move it to a much bigger square.

This could go anywhere. People are saying the revolution has started, but obviously Grillo will have to get more support then.

Disclaimer: in spite of M5S being for direct democracy, basic income and a green revolution, I have some doubts whether they really are a kind of political translation of the Occupy movement.

[brooklynite]

1. Since Grillo won't work with anyone else, and he's a minority candidate, not much is going to change

[BelgianMadCow]

2. Grillo said a world of opportunities (read minority govt) would open if PD had supported Rodota

and since Rodota is a former PD secretary, that was clearly not a wild thing to propose.

I'm not sure who you think is a minority candidate. Grillo wasn't candidate, and Rodota was the candidate of the party with the most votes.

The rise of M5S has already led to the demise of Bersani in the PD. It was also a major (much needed) scare to EU austerity-mongers. I think you conclusion is a bit premature.

That being said, the "will not talk to anyone" has bothered me, as has Grillo's style.

I would much rather have seen M5S come up with a proposal for a coalition with PD. Make it a limited and radical one, but still, come up with something. See it accepted = affect big change now. See it turned down, and at least you've made it clear you're not just anti-politics.