<![CDATA[Nicole Ruskell - Writing Wrongs]]>Wed, 17 Sep 2025 16:33:07 +0100Weebly<![CDATA[Is there a future for the 5 Star Movement?]]>Fri, 19 Jan 2018 12:04:06 GMThttp://www.nicoleruskell.com/writing-wrongs/is-there-a-future-for-the-5-star-movementWhen Movimento Cinque Stelle (M5S) came on to the Italian political scene a few years ago, massive hopes were placed in them to finally bring change to the Italian government. An inflated sense of hope similar to the hope placed in Barak Obama--the kind of hope one desperately lays on someone when they have nothing to look forward to and nothing else to loose (please read my 2013 post "The Italian Spring?" for background information on this group).

A lot of promises and demands were made, and they came so close... They did spectacularly well in the polls and had a chance to form a coalition government, with the possibility of affecting real change. But due to arrogant (and anti-democratic) leadership, they lost it. Beppe Grillo's totalitarian refusal to play politics sacrificed what little say the party had and confined themselves to the obscure. The five seats they had so valiantly and impressively won proved insufficient to affect change on their own. And it damaged their reputation in the eyes of the public as well. 

​Grillo is not a politician, nor did he ever claim to be. He even said repeatedly that he had no intention of entering parliament, that he just wanted to incite change. Well, that he did, and he was brilliant at it. Living in Grillo's home region of Liguria, I saw one of his fanatical rallies and as crazy of a lunatic as he was, he made sense. And the degree of corruption and ineffectiveness of the Italian government certainly warranted his crazed antics. 

It was called the "Tsunami Tour" which swept the country accordingly. But a few years in, it seems that intead of laying waste to the establishment, it destroyed itself. Many believe that when Grillo succeeded in getting good candidates elected, he should have stepped down. His role was completed. Instead, he held on tight to his "baby" of a movement and became more crazed and determined to "send everyone home". He was completely black-listed by the media and all established professionals. Every news report slandered the man, and his "party". The brunt of the negative press was directed at Grillo, which was all the more reason to walk away and let his newbies carry on. These new MPs were smart, bright, seemingly honest, and had the support of the people. A few of them fought the strict no-negotiating rule because they realised that the moment to make real change was upon them. But they were quickly and publicly punished, not only being removed from their elected seat, but also ejected from the party. Possibly the most stupid move the M5S could have made. 

There is something to be said for fighting the system and refusing to fall into the comfortable, well-paid abyss of the status-quo. But going into politics with a staunch rule of 'no politics' is a recipe for failure. 

Nevertheless, we cannot forget the massive change the M5S brought to the political scene. The first political party in Italy to actually practice representative democracy, listening to the people in local meetups (using the Meet-Up website and mobile app) and bringing those issues before the senate. They placed income caps on all their politicians, in a country with obscene political salaries (among the highest in the world), and funding local projects with the excess salary. 

There has been so much good from the M5S, but so much has been lost along the way. Can they continue to move forward and regain support after losing credibility? And will Grillo ever really let go of control? It's possible. Especially after the spectacular fall from grace that Renzi and the Partito Democratico (PD) had. Italy's "Golden boy" turned out to be a flash in the pan and proved that no one in government seems to be free from corruption. Another blow to the Italian people, who placed their hope in Renzi taking us all out of our current depths of despair. 

When great hope is unfulfilled, it becomes great disappointment. Today, with a general election looming only two months away, the M5S is still a viable party, with several successful mayors across the country, a handful of MPs and Di Maio, their front-runner for Prime Minister. While Di Maio is young and charismatic, outside of his few years in the M5S, he has zero political experience. M5S has always prided itself on being 'outsiders' and not part of the corrupt establishment. And perhaps that is just what Italy needs to get out of gridlock of greedy, comfy politicians. But many previous M5S supporters do not take the party seriously anymore, and putting an inexperienced candidate as the party representative could prove to be disastrous. 

On the other side of the aisle, however, what no one expected to see again...is the return of Berlusconi. And he is making all sorts of enticing (and totally improbable) promises! Interesting how in Italy the 'establishment' candidate is closer to Trump than the 'outsider' candidate. But that's a rabbit hole I won't dare to go down now....
]]><![CDATA[Is there hope for the EU?]]>Thu, 20 Apr 2017 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.nicoleruskell.com/writing-wrongs/is-there-hope-for-the-euI was born and raised in California, but as much as I love my home state, I have always desired to be in Europe. With my first trip at the age of 13, I was hooked. Since then, I have lived in Provence, Sicily, Norway, the French Riviera, the Italian Riviera and the UK. I love Europe and I love the mix of cultures. There is no place on Earth I feel happier and proud to be--something that my family still finds hard to understand. 

Of course, living in Europe is not the easiest life and I in no way pretend to see la vie en rose. Some days are so frustrating and complicated (these are usually days that involve paperwork and public offices) that I don't understand why things can't work smoothly or why the concept of customer service has eluded this utopia for so long. But then I meet friends for aperitivo at sunset, or have dinner with people from six different countries, and I remember why I love it so. 

A taste for politics
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Living in Italy during the aftermath of the financial crisis, was no walk in the park. But as turmoil began to spread across the member states with smaller economies and bigger public debt; as austerity measures were enforced (don't get me started on Greece) and publicly elected leaders were 'removed' by non-elected heads in Brussels, I developed a fierce sense of protection for the continent I hold so dear. 

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The Five Star Movement in Italy came on strong and fast and appeared to be a way out of the quagmire. Their rallies drew tens of thousands of people to piazzas across the country and I wrote an optimistic post of a possible Italian Spring. But the party has become a quagmire in itself, and constantly fight an uphill battle to accomplish anything substantial. Not to mention their front-runner, Di Maio, has zero professional political experience. 

During my Master's program in the UK, we covered the 2015 general election--described as one of their most dramatic and surprising elections in Britain's history. I certainly learned a lot about European politics that year. I then joined the Political Studies Association and volunteered as the media officer for the Italian Politics Specialist Group. 

While I couldn't vote in the Brexit Referendum, I stayed up all night watching the results come in and it was pretty shocking. My city of Sheffield, a longtime Labour Party stronghold and anti-conservative constituent (Thatcher closed down all the steel factories throwing the once prosperous city into abject poverty). But in this referendum, Sheffield voted overwhelmingly for Brexit. There were "Remain" signs posted all over, but the term heard most the following day was "quiet conservatives", the people who don't share their opinion, but show up to the poles. 

Europe is in turmoil and it will be an interesting few years ahead, for sure. What I have learned is this: never believe opinion polls, and nothing is for sure. Even events that were supposedly 'written in stone' like the activation of Article 50 to withdraw from the union, we see things are not so black and white. Today, with the upcoming snap elections for 8 June, the president of the EU Parliament said that if Britain voted to undo Brexit, the EU would support it and "welcome them back with open arms." Ha. Imagine if that were to happen. We certainly are in unchartered territory! 

But I am an optimist and I have faith in Europe (even if I have given up every last shred of hope for Italy). I support groups like Wake Up Europe! and DIEM25 that hold fast to European ideals and want to move the EU towards a more transparent and sustainable future. 

This weekend is France's first round of polls for their next president and I am keeping a keen eye on their developments. The candidates are numerous enough at this point to play ring around the rosy! But the surprise of Mélenchon shooting up in the polls (yes, I did say never believe opinion polls) is causing a big stir. Many are now projecting a final runoff between far-right Le Pen and far-left Mélenchon. Status-quo supporters are trying to label Mélenchon a communist or Putin-praiser, but many international experts (including economists) are backing him. For a great (opinion) piece on Mélenchon's proposals, see this article in the Guardian.  I have faith the French will not vote for Front National, and while the policies that Mélenchon is proposing make me feel warm and fuzzy, they aren't realistic for keeping France's economy stable. If you would like to know DIEM25's assessment of all the candidates' policies, click here.

We still have elections coming up in Germany and now again in the UK, so try to keep up!
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