Grillo’s brilliant conduct of the last election made his the largest single party. This was despite being ignored by the press. He would hold massive rallies in city squares which went quite unreported, such that he would begin his address, to tens of thousands of cheering supporters, with ‘There’s no one here!’.

At his final rally in the Piazza San Giovanni there were 800,000. In the midst of the current uncertainty people are wondering what he could achieve next time.