«My new life as an insurance agent. And a colleague who uses a scooter loves me»- Corriere.it

“The colleagues? There is a lot of curiosity and desire to understand what happens inside the buildings. They asked me a lot of questions about how this politician or this one is. There’s a lot of respect from them towards me for what I’ve done. One colleague in particular who uses the scooter loves me for making it a usable means of transport “: to speak is Danilo Toninelli, former Minister of Infrastructure of the yellow-green government, historical face of the Movement and still M5S arbitrator. The former Lombard parliamentarian was unable to reapply like many other Five Stars due to the ceiling of the two mandates imposed by Beppe Grillo and tells the Courier: «Life outside the political palaces is going very well. I was prepared to return to my former routine, because I have never felt identified with politics either as a parliamentarian or as a minister. So when it was time to take off that second skin it was easy» And he explains: «I went back to work for an important insurance company» after a decade between Montecitorio and Palazzo Madama.

A life as a commuter by train: «I commute between Cremona and the offices in Milan and Rome». «From Monday to Friday I work, while in the evening and on the weekend I dedicate myself to my Youtube channel which gets over 100,000 views a week», says Toninelli. Yes, because in the meantime the former minister has become a YouTuber and has also launched a campaign to support his channel. A fundraiser that is “going well”, but “we are only at the beginning”, claims the M5S exponent. And he explains his choice thus: «YouTube is my favorite social network compared to others because it gives more rewards and there are fewer haters and fewer bots. There is more dialogue with users and their comments are pertinent». Why YouTube or TikTok (“I have millions of views,” he assures)? To speak to young people. “Most of them do not find or receive information from traditional channels, it is a world that must be respected”. And he reiterates: «It is a real and effective communication».

“So I continue to do politics,” says the former minister, even if he specifies that he has not abandoned meetings with activists and militants (“when I can I participate”). The activity as arbiter is a bit steady: «There were delays in the transmission of data from the old management to the new one», she explains. But contacts with fellow adventurers of the Roman decade are constant: “Our historic chats are still active,” says Toninelli. And he blesses the ceiling of two mandates despite this having cut him off from a possible re-election: «he is organic, he is vital with a reality like the Movement, and we have to thank Gianroberto Casaleggio and Beppe Grillo». Is he satisfied with the current line of the Movement? «I am satisfied because the founding rules have been respected». The Five Stars are now a pillar of the centre-left, they are no longer a post-ideological subject as they were at the beginning. “These are situations connected to historical-political moments,” says the former senator. And he specifies: “Right now we need to oppose the issues of this center-right which are at the antipodes of the DNA of the Movement, if this means being labeled as center-left, I accept it”.

No regrets about the past: «Everything we have done, we have done in freedom, considering it right for those specific historical moments. Evaluating certain choices with today is misleading ». And he concludes: “There is no solid future without ancient roots”.