A half-day stoppage brought Italy to a halt on November 30, as millions of workers protested the planned 2005 austerity budget of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Berlesconi is planning sweeping cuts to public spending, particularly on public transport, while offering tax cuts aimed at wealthy singles, which offer little to the lowest income earners. The strike crippled public transport, and closed most of the county’s banks and factories. More than 100 Alitalia flights were cancelled. Seventy protests were held, despite driving rain in most of the country. The largest protest was in Milan, where 100,000 protested. Fifty-thousand protested in Rome, 60,000 in Turin and 35,000 in Venice.

From Green Left Weekly, December 8, 2004.
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