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Former comedian turned politician Beppe Grillo is not joking around in his country's upcoming election Sunday. Grillo started the 5 Star Movement and it has been gaining momentum the past several months. Speaking out against corruption and a weak economy, Grillo and his party seek significant change in the government.

Right-wing populism is alive and well in Italy.

Grillo’s 5 Star Movement gained momentum in October. He organized a protest to denounce a new electoral law. This law limits direct voting for parliamentary candidates and helps protect incumbents in national elections. At this protest outside the Pantheon, the former comedian wore a white blindfold the Wall Street Journal reported. “We are protesting blindfolded because this is how they want us – unable to see,” Grillo boasted to a raucous crowd.

The ineffectiveness of Italy’s political class launched the 5 Star Movement to widespread popularity. On the heels of a feeble economic recovery and resentment towards establishment politicians, polls show a potential electoral victory for the 5 Star Movement. They could potentially emerge as Italy’s single biggest party. This would catapult them to a position of the senior partner in a coalition government to bring populist change to Italy.

Entrance Into Politics

Grillo’s rise was not meteoric. His first foray into politics was a blog in 2005. This blog exposed “corporate malfeasance and official corruption” the Wall Street Journal reported. The blog became one of the most popular in the country. He then launched a “Clean Parliament” campaign after learning that former politicians collected pensions in their 40s and enjoyed the benefits of ruling class nepotism. In September 2007, he organized an event to publicize the campaign that he dubbed V-Day, with “V” standing for vaffanculo, Italian for “f—k off.”

“The V-Day event represented a point of no return,” said Marco Canestrari, a communications consultant for Grillo.

The 5 Star Movement

5 Star Movement was founded in 2009. It achieved its first victory in 2012 when Grillo campaigned relentlessly across Sicily during regional elections. Grillo criticized members of Sicily’s regional assembly's salary as the country suffered economically.   They were compensated nearly 15,000 euros monthly and eligible for a pension after four and a half years in office. This tapped into the anger that was sweeping Italy. Even worse, this wealthy compensation during a time when the Sicilian economy shrunk 5% between 2008 and 2012 with an 18% unemployment rate.