The balls to let both government and big business know we won't be played for suckers.
Strike Against Proposal to Raise Retirement Age Paralyzes Italy
By FRANK BRUNI
Published: October 25, 2003
ROME, Oct. 24 ? Planes idled on runways, trains stopped moving and much of Italy slipped into a state of temporary paralysis on Friday, the result of a nationwide strike to protest a proposed increase in the retirement age.
Hundreds of thousands of workers heeded the call of the country's three largest labor unions and stayed away from work, and many took part in loud demonstrations that represented more than a single day's sound and fury.
Those demonstrations reflected a growing tension in Western Europe as governments reassess the affordability of their pension systems and citizens chafe against the prospect of diminished entitlements.
In Italy on Friday, schoolteachers played hooky, museum administrators locked their doors and tens of thousands of Italians marched down the country's main arteries and flooded its fabled piazzas. "Defend your future!" people shouted in an enormous crowd that gathered at noon in Piazza Navona here. There were whistles, drums and a general air of unease.
Italy, France and Germany have all contemplated, plotted or instituted cutbacks in state pension programs. Their leaders have said the global economic slowdown, a plummeting birth rate and rising life expectancy are forcing them to do so.
Late last month, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi took the unusual step of addressing the issue directly in a prime-time television speech. "This is not a sustainable situation," he said of Italy's pension system.
Many Italians now retire with full benefits from the state before they turn 60. If they are 57 or younger, they can retire after paying into the state pension system for 37 years. If they are over 57, they can retire after 35 years of contributions.
Mr. Berlusconi has proposed increasing that period to 40 years for men under 65 and women under 60, a requirement that would take effect in 2008. Parliament has not yet voted on the measure.
Mr. Berlusconi's first stint as prime minister, ended in 1994 after just seven months, in part because of disenchantment over his desire to meddle with the state pension system. He is nonetheless tackling the issue again, though the bad news contrasts starkly with his cheery campaign promises two and a half years ago. Italians elected him to do for their economy what he did for his business empire ? make it bigger and richer ? but that has not happened.
Some protesters complained that Mr. Berlusconi was mismanaging the economy and that the answer was not to delay workers' retirements. Others said no budget crunch warranted the changes that Mr. Berlusconi was proposing.
"I think we should look in general at the life of a human being, which cannot be considered only in terms of work," said Amico Antonucci, 54, in the crowd at Piazza Navona.
Bianca Pomeranzi, 53, proposed an alternative to Mr. Berlusconi's plan. "The problem of too little money to pay pensions and a low birth rate could easily be solved by allowing more immigrants into the country," she said. Many Italians are opposed to that.
As Italians took to the streets, collateral damage was ample.
Tourists were among the casualties. In Florence, visitors who were turned away from museums entertained themselves instead by taking photographs of the protesters in the streets.
In Rome, visitors peered longingly, through zoom lenses, at the ruins that make up the Roman Forum, which was off limits for the day.
Strike Against Proposal to Raise Retirement Age Paralyzes Italy
By FRANK BRUNI
Published: October 25, 2003
ROME, Oct. 24 ? Planes idled on runways, trains stopped moving and much of Italy slipped into a state of temporary paralysis on Friday, the result of a nationwide strike to protest a proposed increase in the retirement age.
Hundreds of thousands of workers heeded the call of the country's three largest labor unions and stayed away from work, and many took part in loud demonstrations that represented more than a single day's sound and fury.
Those demonstrations reflected a growing tension in Western Europe as governments reassess the affordability of their pension systems and citizens chafe against the prospect of diminished entitlements.
In Italy on Friday, schoolteachers played hooky, museum administrators locked their doors and tens of thousands of Italians marched down the country's main arteries and flooded its fabled piazzas. "Defend your future!" people shouted in an enormous crowd that gathered at noon in Piazza Navona here. There were whistles, drums and a general air of unease.
Italy, France and Germany have all contemplated, plotted or instituted cutbacks in state pension programs. Their leaders have said the global economic slowdown, a plummeting birth rate and rising life expectancy are forcing them to do so.
Late last month, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi took the unusual step of addressing the issue directly in a prime-time television speech. "This is not a sustainable situation," he said of Italy's pension system.
Many Italians now retire with full benefits from the state before they turn 60. If they are 57 or younger, they can retire after paying into the state pension system for 37 years. If they are over 57, they can retire after 35 years of contributions.
Mr. Berlusconi has proposed increasing that period to 40 years for men under 65 and women under 60, a requirement that would take effect in 2008. Parliament has not yet voted on the measure.
Mr. Berlusconi's first stint as prime minister, ended in 1994 after just seven months, in part because of disenchantment over his desire to meddle with the state pension system. He is nonetheless tackling the issue again, though the bad news contrasts starkly with his cheery campaign promises two and a half years ago. Italians elected him to do for their economy what he did for his business empire ? make it bigger and richer ? but that has not happened.
Some protesters complained that Mr. Berlusconi was mismanaging the economy and that the answer was not to delay workers' retirements. Others said no budget crunch warranted the changes that Mr. Berlusconi was proposing.
"I think we should look in general at the life of a human being, which cannot be considered only in terms of work," said Amico Antonucci, 54, in the crowd at Piazza Navona.
Bianca Pomeranzi, 53, proposed an alternative to Mr. Berlusconi's plan. "The problem of too little money to pay pensions and a low birth rate could easily be solved by allowing more immigrants into the country," she said. Many Italians are opposed to that.
As Italians took to the streets, collateral damage was ample.
Tourists were among the casualties. In Florence, visitors who were turned away from museums entertained themselves instead by taking photographs of the protesters in the streets.
In Rome, visitors peered longingly, through zoom lenses, at the ruins that make up the Roman Forum, which was off limits for the day.
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