Thousands rally in Italy to oppose austerity measures

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   Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty ImagesDemonstrators applaud during the left-wing Italian metalworkers' union FIOM rally in downtown Rome's Piazza San Giovanni on May 18, 2013. By Carmelo Carmilli and Roberto Mignucci, ReutersThousands of people protested in Rome on Saturday against austerity  policies and high unemployment, urging new Prime Minister Enrico Letta  to focus on creating jobs to help pull the country out of recession.

"We  hope that this government will finally start listening to us because we  are losing our patience," said Enzo Bernardis, who joined the sea of  protesters waving red flags and calling for more workers' rights and  better contracts.

Less than a month in power, Letta is trying to  hold together an uneasy coalition between his center-left Democratic  party and the center-right People of Freedom, led by former prime  minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Confidence in the government,  cobbled together after inconclusive elections, is already falling, with  one poll on Friday by the SWG institute showing its approval rating had  dropped to 34 percent from 43 percent at the start of the month.  


"We can't wait anymore" and "We need money to live" were among slogans on banners held up by the crowds.

Letta  promised to make jobs his top priority when he came to power in April  after two months of political deadlock. But several protesters  complained he was not sticking to his vow, focusing instead on a  property tax reform outlined this week.

Union leaders said he  needed to shift away from the austerity agenda pursued by former Prime  Minister Mario Monti, who introduced a range of spending cuts, tax hikes  and pension reform to shore up strained public finances.

"We  need to start over with more investment. If we don't restart with public  and private investments, there will no new jobs," said Maurizio  Landini, secretary-general of the left-wing metalworkers union Fiom.

Italy  is stuck in its longest recession since quarterly records began in  1970, and jobless rates are close to record highs, with youth  unemployment at around 38 percent.

Other protesters were pessimistic that Letta's fragile government would be able to take effective action.

"This  government will last a very short time," said demonstrator Marco  Silvani. What we need is a new leftist party that fights for the rights  of the people," he said.

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