Beppe Grillo: «Let's change the calendar, 13 months of 28 days»
The founder of the M5S: «The Gregorian chant is anachronistic, with fixed days everything is simpler and more useful on an economic level»
Rethinking the calendar "to keep up with the technology that is racing towards the future at great speed": hence the idea of a "fixed calendar" with 13 months of 28 days. Beppe Grillo launched it on his blog , recalling that the first to imagine overcoming the Gregorian calendar was the "French philosopher, mathematician and writer Auguste Comte" in 1849 and that the debate is also open "at the United Nations".
The Gregorian calendar currently adopted, Grillo recalls, is «a model from over 400 years ago, which in turn was based on an ancient 2000-year scheme, known as the Julian calendar». Established «under papal authority», it had the objective of «restoring continuity in the measurement of time dating back to the early Christian era… approximately twelve centuries earlier! Today, we are therefore anchored to an anachronistic scheme, born under a pre-scientific, theocratic society, with a feudal economy, which does not simplify our lives at all."
A fixed calendar of 13 months, all of exactly 4 weeks and 28 days, plus a public holiday at the end of the year, argues Grillo, «would eliminate the confusion caused by months with variable numbers of days, simplifying time management, budgeting and planning for individuals, companies and organizations." It would therefore be «easier to plan and coordinate local, national and global activities» and «leap years would be easily managed by adding a single extra day at the end of the year instead of the current system in which an extra day is added in February» .
Not only that, companies "would benefit for financial reporting, payroll processing and inventory management" and "there would finally be a harmonization of holidays: the extra day added as a holiday at the end of the year would bring a universal celebration, against any type of religious discrimination and promoting global unity".
The proposal from the founder of the 5 Star Movement immediately triggered reactions, including political ones.
«Beppe Grillo wants to change the calendar: 13 months of 28 days, to have semesters of uniform duration and to facilitate company accounting. However, it ignores that the semesters have different durations because the time between solstices and equinoxes is not the same", says Lucio Malan, president of the senators of the Brothers of Italy. Adding: «But he certainly likes a calendar that would cut off historical, cultural and religious roots. Whoever cuts the roots wants to cut down the tree."
(Unioneonline/lf)
