M5s, what is the constituent assembly that put the Conte-Grillo relationship in crisis

How to move forward, rewriting the rules and relaunching the party. This is the objective of the constituent assembly announced by Giuseppe Conte in the aftermath of the M5s electoral debacle, which plummeted to 9.9% at last June's European elections. The aim is to give a new physiognomy to the party, despite the 'who goes there' of the founder Beppe Grillo, openly critical of the methods and objectives of the announced 'revolution'. And on the day in which Grillo htried to armour the name and symbol of the M5S, along with the rule of the double mandate, Conte started the path towards the Movement's constituent. He did so by reiterating that 'we will be able to discuss everything, we will be able to recast ourselves completely. Yes, even the symbol, even the name, even the organisational rules, the established ones, can be discussed'.

The organisational machine therefore does not stop. At the last meeting of the Movement's national council, the three stages of the process were set: listening to members and sympathisers, deliberative debate, and the Constituent Assembly with a final vote of the members. The first stage, which has just begun, will therefore be a 'listening phase'. And it will involve M5S members, supporters, and voters who share the Charter of Principles and Values. They will be the ones to indicate the needs, strategic goals and organisational changes that the M5S should address from their point of view. At this stage, everyone is 'asked to focus primarily on strategic needs and objectives, as well as on specific operational proposals'. All contributions, which must be received by 6 September through a special link, will be made available anonymously and it will be possible for everyone to comment on them, again anonymously. Based on the contributions received, participants will be asked to express their priorities with respect to the objectives they consider most strategic to pursue.

The second phase will take place in early October and is the deliberative phase proper. Here the confrontation starts with a 'discussion guide', with the support of thematic experts: a 'preparatory document for the confrontation, which serves to provide all participants with the information base on each topic and the questions to be answered during the thematic discussion sessions'. In this phase 300 members, drawn by lot from a stratified sample based on balance of age, gender and geographical origin, will work simultaneously, divided into working tables; all members and sympathisers who have actively contributed in the first phase; a group of 30 under-age young people (14-17 years old); a group of non-member supporters,

The third phase, the assembly proper, 'will be held at the end of October', as announced by Conte. It will take place in a composite mode (participation with physical presence or online), will see the participation of a panel of experts, moments of political debate, the illustration of proposals and their voting through online consultation, with effects on possible changes to the Statute of the Movement and the political programme.