Grillo-Conte clash. The guarantor: symbol, name and second mandate non-negotiable. The leader: no vetoes

"Our symbol, our name and the second term rule", our "three pillars are in no way negotiable, and cannot be changed at will. They are the beating heart of the 5 Star Movement, our beacon in the storm. To change them would mean betraying the trust of those who have believed in us, those who have fought with us, those who have seen in the MoVimento the only hope for real change'. Beppe Grillo writes this on his blog, calling himself the 'guarantor and guardian of the fundamental values of political action' of the M5s, and asking 'activists, spokesmen and supporters' to 'reflect deeply, to listen to your conscience. At this crucial moment we cannot afford to lose our way. Let us preserve and protect what we have built together. The MoVimento,' he adds, 'is and must remain a force for genuine change, and to do so, we must remain faithful to our founding principles'.

A strong-toned post that sounds like a aut aut aut to Giuseppe Conte. The former premier has in fact launched, immediately after the disappointing results of the European elections, the initiative of a constituent assembly to question alliances, name, symbol and the rule of the second mandate. The assembly should be held between late September and early October. But Conte's line immediately appeared unpalatable to the founder of the Movement.

'Guarantor and guardian of the fundamental values of the MoVimento 5 Stelle political action': this is how Beppe Grillo signs his name in the post entitled 'Our DNA', on his own blog, addressed to 'activists, spokesmen and supporters'. "We find ourselves at a fundamental crossroads in our history, in which we must reflect on our roots and on what has united us from the beginning," he writes in the long message. "When we founded the MoVimento 5 Stelle, Gianroberto (Casaleggio, ed) and I did so with a clear ideal: to create an alternative to the traditional political system. Our journey was born from a shared dream, a dream that led us to challenge a corrupt system, to give back a voice to citizens and to try to build a fairer and more transparent Italy'. Grillo recalls that 'in 2013 a cry opened the way for us, it opened wide that door we could not see. Behind that door was a new world, an unknown territory, completely different from what we imagined. Like any animal species,' he adds, 'we had to adapt, to survive, and with little agility we had to live with those who had inhabited those territories for a long time and did not want to be disturbed. Throughout this journey, we have always anchored ourselves to three indispensable pillars: our symbol, our name and the rule of the second term'.

Grillo's reply was close on the heels of this, with the guarantor's warnings sent back to the sender. At the constituent assembly 'we will be able to discuss everything, we will be able to re-found ourselves completely: even the symbol, the name, the organisational rules, the established ones, can be discussed. Because we cannot accept that when it is the community of members that has to decide, some people arbitrarily and in advance decide what can be discussed, what can be deliberated on,' the M5s leader says in a video on social media after Beppe Grillo's stance on the Movement's 'non-negotiable pillars'.