Italy’s “Five Stars” Movement and the role of a leader, or, How charismatic power can resurface through the Web

By focusing on the case of Italian political movement “Five Stars”, founded in 2009 by former comedian Beppe Grillo, this article will analyse the resurfacing of a particular kind of power – the charismatic authority – through a platform such as the Web 2.0 that was expected to promote more rational consensus strategies. Although the political action of the Five Stars movement pretends to be inspired by a participative culture, it is in fact directly ruled by the founder via his blog, with a little space allowed for discussions. In this sense, the rise of Grillo as a political leader seems to both retrieve and renew an old form of authority grounded in a very traditional legitimacy - the charismatic and undisputed leadership of the boss – while at the same time able to spread through the network. This article will offer an overview of the events and also provide a theoretical interpretation.