Exactly one month ago, four young people from Bologna convened a demonstration through social networks to protest against the populist messages of Matteo Salvini. That same day, the leader of the League offered a rally before his co-religionists in the capital of Emilia-Romagna, where regional elections will be held in January. They hoped to gather around 6,000 people - the capacity provided in the sports center where Salvini was exhibited, but 15,000 were presented at the historic Plaza Mayor in Bologna, squeezed like canned sardines. Since that day, the movement of the 'sardines' has spread throughout Italy, from Turin to Palermo. This Saturday they celebrated their first national demonstration in the Italian capital, where thousands of people of all ages joined the cry of "Rome is not League." No flags or political symbols.

"In Bologna we wanted to peacefully demonstrate our rejection of Salvini and his lies but now that message has evolved," says Andrea Garreffa, a 32-year-old journalist working in the sustainable tourism sector and one of the drivers of the phenomenon along with Mattia Santori, Roberto Morotti and Giulia Trappoloni. " We are not demonstrating against Salvini but in favor of a new political dialectic . We believe it is possible to change the inertia of populist rhetoric through art, beauty, nonviolence and creativity."

Without a program, a physical structure or a leader, the four friends and former roommates in Bologna have decided to divide the coordination work of a network that already crosses the transalpine borders. Yesterday there were 'sardines' in the main European capitals. "It's a party of people tired of hate politics and in defense of the Constitution," said the organizer of the Roman demonstration, Stephen Ogongo, an African journalist based in Italy for 25 years.

The polls estimate 15% of the votes for a hypothetical Sardine Party but Andrea Garreffa says they will not be transformed into a political formation. "We are a cultural phenomenon of democratic participation but the politicians have to do it , " he insists.

The noise aroused in the squares to the rhythm of the 'Bella Ciao', the traditional anthem of the resistance, and the music of 'Com'è profondo il mare' by Lucio Dalla, authentic soundtrack of the movement, begins to disturb both right as on the left, the latter fragmented and absent from the debate in the street. Salvini went from the mocking criticisms thrown through his powerful propaganda machinery - crimes against sardines, the campaign was called on social networks - to question the spontaneity of the movement and point to historical leaders of the left as the 'brains' behind of the phenomenon "The right fears us and the left should reflect. If there are so many people on the streets it is because they do not feel represented," says Garreffa. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced his availability to meet with them.

"These types of movements are cyclical in Italy. Every time the right seems to prevail, a square is activated that wants to be transversal but ends up aligning with the left. And not always with great results," recalls the political scientist Marco Tarchi. "It is no coincidence that the 'sardines' appear when the PD is in difficulty facing the elections in Emilia-Romagna," he said.

Before the 'sardines' other civic movements had an uneven result in Italy: from the 'girotondi', an initiative promoted by the filmmaker Nanni Moretti in 2002 to counter Silvio Berlusconi, the so-called 'Violet People', which mobilized thousands of citizens against the tycoon years later. But without a doubt the fact that the 'sardines' have emerged in Bologna through social networks reminds of the M5E. It was in that same place where Beppe Grillo, then a popular comedian while author of the country's most followed blog, launched in 2007 the 'Vaffanculo Day' to denounce that convicted politicians would sit in Parliament. A decade later, the 'grillinos', now in the Government, are divided between those who crave a return to their origins and who have become without much effort part of the 'caste' they criticized.

Garraffa underlines the differences with Luigi Di Maio's party and claims his own personality. "The Five Stars was an anti-political movement, with a business structure behind and a leader. We are non-partisan, we are not against politics or content gaps, we launch a peaceful and inclusive message. The 'sardines' are the antibodies against the fascism".

The manifestation of Rome is a turning point although the litmus test will be the elections in Emilia-Romagna, a historic left-wing feud. The hypothetical triumph of the center right will mean "the end of the bungling experiment of the M5E and the PD", analyzes Marco Tarchi. And he will probably decide the still uncertain future of the 'sardines'. But beyond what happens at the polls, says Alice, a Roman 'sardine' yesterday in the front row, "the important thing is that it has allowed us to recover the illusion to many of those who had lost it."

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  • Italy
  • Matteo Salvini
  • Silvio Berlusconi
  • Beppe Grillo

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