It was less than a month ago that the new Italian government of the pseudo-technocrat Letta, of Bilderberg 2012 [11] and Aspen Institute [12]fame, was voted in by a majority of the PD and the PDL parties (the latter agreeing so Berlusconi would get an extension of his much needed political immunity from assorted prison sentences). It may not last too long. As Reuters reports [13], it took just 20 days for Letta's approval rating to plunge by 25%, dropping from 43% at the start of the month to 34%, according to an SWG institute poll. It would appear the Italian people (unlike their Japanese peers who at least according to government-controlled media data could not be happier with PM Abe, supposedly because of the bubblelicious 50% rise in the Nikkei225 year to date, even though under 20% are actually invested in the stock market making one wonder just how credible polling, and all other data in Japan actually is) don't have Mrs. Watanabe's childish fascination wth soaring stock bubbles, sexy bonds [14], mini skirts [15]and 2% inflation bras [16], and instead demand real economic results. Which also means the protests are once again back.
[17]
Thousands 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.
The people's chief demand: end that perpetual scapegoat for everything that is wrong in Europe, "austerity" (the same austerity that was never actually implemented [18]but since it distracted from politicians' gross incompetence, it was a handy propaganda tool). The problem, as all those who are even remotely familiar with finance know is that in a Keynesian world, it is all about credit creation - the same credit creation which can no longer take place in Europe for the various reason explained before [19].
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.
Of course to get "investments", one needs funding, and the problem is that virtually all sovereign bond issuance - for now driven by the BOJ's monetization-facilitated carry trade impulse - is going to indirectly prop up the local insolvent banking system, not to fund public spending. That too will become clear in due course, but for now there is hope.
However, even the hope is running out, leading to the people's, accurate, conclusion:
"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.
Or, in other words, the same left party "solution" that France got and that has managed to crush the local economy to a double-dip recession in just one year.