ROME (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of Italians shouting anti-government slogans marched in Rome yesterday to protest at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s handling of the economic crisis and demand more spending to create jobs.
Waving red union banners and balloons, students, workers and leftist politicians marched in five processions through the city in the rally, organised by Italy’s biggest union CGIL. Much of central Rome was blocked off to traffic.
“The government keeps making announcements instead of taking proper actions like giving a cheque to people who lose their jobs,” said one protester, Achille Mantovani.
“Berlusconi talks and talks but the money never shows up.”
One banner read: “Enough! It’s time Italy fires Berlusconi.”
Opposition leader Dario Franceschini was among the senior leftist politicians to take part, calling it a show of support for hapless workers whose jobs are at risk.
Organisers said 2.7 million people took to the streets, brought in by 4,800 buses, 40 special trains and two boats. Police put the number at closer to 200,000.
“Why doesn’t the government want to do more?” CGIL union boss Guglielmo Epifani told protesters pouring into the grounds of the Circo Massimo. “Why is the government spending only an additional 4 billion euros during a crisis of this magnitude?”
Berlusconi says Italy’s stimulus package to pull its recession-hit economy out of a slump is worth up to 80 billion euros ($107 billion), but critics say only a fraction of that is fresh spending, with most of it recycling existing funds.
Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti called for proposals instead of protests, and ruled out a blank spending check to spur growth.
Employers’ lobby Confindustria expects more than 500,000 Italians to lose their jobs in the two years up to mid-2010, while CGIL says a million more will be unemployed at the end of 2010 than before the crisis began in 2007.
Most of those will be temporary workers who, unlike in some European countries, have few rights to protection as Italy’s economy hurtles toward a 3 per cent contraction this year.
“The government’s actions are opportunistic,” said Lorena Guidi, a temporary worker who took part in the protest.
“They defend banks and businessmen while workers are increasingly squeezed.”
