As Italy's major parties start preparations for the general election in a year's time, a new rival has been born - and it's amassed thousands of followers on social media.
The days-old Movimento Arturo (Arthur Movement) was set up by a satirical TV show, but it appears to have gone beyond a joke.
In the ten days since it was born, the 'party' has overtaken the right-wing Northern League in terms of social media following, gained media coverage across Italy - even sparking debate in financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore - and seen branches set up around the country and the world.
The movement is the brainchild of the team behind Gazebo, a talk show which mixes news and entertainment.
In response to the split of Italy's ruling Democratic Party, the presenters discussed possible names for the new movement.
Cartoonist Makkox suggested 'New Left', 'Old Left', and 'Five Left Movement', before arriving at Movimento Arturo - the name 'Arturo' chosen partly because of its similarity to the word 'futuro', often repeated by politicians.
When the official new left-wing party announced their name as the Progressive and Democratic Movement (Movimento dei democratici e dei progressisti), abbreviated to Mo.Dem.Pro, the team criticized the name, with Makkox joking that it was reminiscent of the stock markets.
And Gazebo's lead presenter, Diego Bianchi, announced that Movimento Arturo would set up its own social media profiles, with the aim of "exceeding the new party in followers".
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https://www.thelocal.it/20170310/how-a-joke-political-party-became-the-fourth-largest-in-italyWhile all politics is strange, Italian politics are sui generis.
