Politics: Vote for the Italian Comic!

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Politics Vote for the Italian Comic! Why the rise of Italy's Beppe Grillo proves political change comes from crazy people, not centrists. By David Weigel Posted Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013, at 12:24 AM ET Today, the fate of the world economy rests with an Italian stand-up comedian. This was not supposed to happen. The center-left Italian Democrats spent the entire campaign with strong leads in the polls. Foreign reporters swooned over "Operation Ohio," fresh-scrubbed Italian politicos trained by the Obama campaign taking their new tactics into swing state Lombardy. Then came Beppe Grillo, a brillo-haired, economics-trained comic with a blog and a 1980 vehicular manslaughter conviction. His Five Star Movement ticket looked completely ridiculous, until it surged into third place. Grillo's rallies attracted tens of thousands of people, then 100,000. Grillo's platform called for a living wage and for priests to have children "so they don't touch other people's." That, added to his aggressive social media campaign—nearly a million followers on Twitter—carved out 25 percent of the vote, denying a majority to the center-left, sending investors into a now-familiar panic, the Dow Jones index falling by 216 points. After all, this is Italy we're talking about. Political stasis is such a steady part of Italian life that the lede to one Associated Press story—"investors worry that Italy could be seized with political paralysis"—was an accidental fount of chuckles. What makes Grillo interesting is the way his Five Star Movement was built. The candidate list was assembled in online conventions. Party members clicked the names of three candidates, and those with the most clicks got onto the ballot. That was exactly what the late, unlamented ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Vote for the Italian Comic! Blood Sports The Beatles Race Against the Clock	Advertisement
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