Italian PM faces anti-austerity protest

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Bergamo on Saturday while Monti was in the city, defending tax authorities against mounting anger in the country.

“Enough with Monti, enough with taxes,” read a banner trailed by a small plane during the premier’s speech to passing-out officers of the Guardia di Finanza tax police.

The demonstrators let off smoke flares and pasted fake euros on the walls despite tightened security and riot police presence.

Monti’s government has imposed nearly 24 billion euros (USD 30 billion) worth of tax hikes to prop up Italy’s strained public finances.

The unpopular cutbacks are to cap a public debt which amounts to about 120 percent of Italy’s GDP.

Italian tax officials have been under growing pressure over recent months and the tax collecting agency Equitalia has suffered a series of attacks and threats by desperate businessmen as well as anarchist groups.

Monti’s approval ratings have also nosedived, with local elections this month seeing greater support for the opposition.

MRS/JR

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