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Thursday, September 20, 2007      New: Take a Stand

Italy’s Drudge, former standup comic, holds politicos' feet to the fire

An Italian comedian is emerging as a new force in Italian politics by raising the heat on politicians in the country, according to U.S. officials.

The political Internet site of popular comedian Bebbe Grillo is being widely read and quoted by the Italian media and web sites, taking on a role similar to that of U.S. Internet news leader Matt Drudge.

Bebbe Grillo
Grillo’s “postings on foreign policy, corruption, and leadership abuses have raised public awareness, created political debate, and increased pressure on politicians and business leaders,” according to a U.S. intelligence report on Grillo.

The blog [www.beppegrillo.it] has emerged as the most popular site in Italy, according to the internet metrics websites Blogbabel and Technorati.

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The site was launched in 2005 and is now among the 20 most widely viewed blogs in the world, averaging 150,000 to 200,000 hits per day. More than 7,500 websites link to Grillo's blog, and the leading daily newspaper Corriere della Sera has published 32 articles that mentioned the comedian or his blog since the beginning of 2007. The second highest circulation daily, leftist La Repubblica, has mentioned Grillo in 20 articles since the beginning of 2007.

Grillo has repeatedly called on parliament to replace 25 members who were convicted of crimes and sentenced but allowed to retain their seats and stay out of prison because they were convicted of administrative offenses. He is organizing protests against the members outside various municipalities.

In a rare gesture, Italy's Court of Accounts, which deals with cases involving corruption and government financial dealings, issued a press release in July stating that it "substantially" agreed with Grillo's position on the members.

Grillo frequently referred to opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi as the "psiconano" (psycho-midget) and criticized Berlusconi for his conflict of interests and policymaking as prime minister.

A television show comedian in the late 1970s and 1980s, Grillo in 1987 was bared from appearing on state television after joking about then Prime Minister Bettino Craxi and suspicions of corruption against him. He worked as a standup comedian in nightclubs but otherwise maintained a low profile until he started his blog in 2005.

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