ITALY: Thousands of people descend on Rome in a demonstration against Prime Minister Mario Monti's labour reforms

Record ID: 717543

  • Title: ITALY: Thousands of people descend on Rome in a demonstration against Prime Minister Mario Monti's labour reforms
  • Date: 17th June 2012
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (JUNE 16, 2012) (REUTERS) LARGE CROWDS OF DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING IN STREET VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS WITH FLAGS AND BANNERS MAN WAVING FOOTBALL RATTLE AND HOLDING CISL UNION FLAG DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING POLICE ON GUARD IN STREET DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING BEHIND LARGE BANNER DEMONSTRATOR WITH UNION FLAG ON HIS BACK MARCHING
  • Embargoed: 2nd July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Economy,Employment,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4O5SV9JWP0CS428PJP4Q2OHE6
  • Story Text: Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Rome on Saturday (June 16) to march against unpopular reforms and austerity measures of Prime Minister Mario Monti's government.
    Special train and bus services were organised by trade unions to help Italians across the country reach the capital for the march.
    An estimated 200,000 people joined in the march which headed towards the central Piazza del Popolo square.
    Organisers sympathised with Greece, which is going to the polls on Sunday (June 17) If a radical left party wins the vote, the euro zone could find itself scrambling to avert a humiliating break-up.
    "The concern over the elections in Greece is obviously a major concern, but we need to remember that if Greece is in trouble it is because Europe from the beginning did not choose social politics to exit the crisis and I hope they will get a positive solution, some hope while the real theme continues to be whether Europe returns to be a Europe governed with politics rather than economy," head of Italy's largest trade union federation, Susanna Camusso, told Reuters Television.
    Italy said on Friday (June 15) it would sell state assets, streamline ministry spending, and introduce incentives for home improvements as part of a so-called "growth decree" meant to counter the effects of budget rigour.
    With Monti's approval rating sagging under the weight of belt-tightening and Italy in the middle of a severe recession, the package is intended to mark a shift away from austerity towards growth and efficiency.
    Protesters said they were still not convinced.
    "We are speechless and believe that all that's happened up until now, will repeat itself. We need new people, young people with open minds and fresh views, not these people that are governing us today," demonstrator Sabrina Mameli said.
    "The government has done what it had to do but it has limited itself and hurt the usual targets: the workers and the pensioners. Instead, a nice wealth tax would be rather good to give a boost to more investment," demonstrator Gianfranco Trotta said.
    Monti's approval rating has slid further in June, more than halved since he took office in November last year as higher taxes, unpopular labour reform and recession eat away at his support, a poll showed on Friday (June 15).
    He sought to shore up his political support this week among the parties that back him in parliament, ahead of the Greek election that threatens to destabilise the single currency bloc, and a series of crucial international meetings that will aim to map out the future of the euro zone.
    However the prime minister has struggled to push through the far-reaching reforms that he promised when the discredited former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down in November.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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