Italy, Protest | featured news

A protest party draws support from voters who are fed up with politics, but its success could make governing Italy even harder than it already is.

Tens of thousands of Italian workers rallied in Rome on Saturday to protest pension cuts, tax hikes and labor reforms imposed by the government of Mario Monti and to demand more stable work, particularly for the young. The demonstration organized by Italy's main labor unions came a day after Monti's latest effort to stave off contagion from Europe's debt crisis. His Cabinet on Friday approved measures worth (EURO)80 billion ($100 billion) to spur economic growth, streamline the notoriously bloated public sector and lower the national debt.

The global "Day of Rage" against the world's financial system won some limited sympathy from political and economic leaders on Sunday, after protests that were peaceful everywhere but Italy.