Courtesy of Mish.
Over the past four days “pitchfork protests” have spread to numerous cities, disrupting road and rail travel in protest of the state of the economy.
The pitchfork movement started with a loose group of Sicilian farmers concerned about rising taxes and cuts to agricultural state funds, then evolved into a nationwide umbrella grouping of truckers, small businessman, the unemployed, low-paid workers, rightwing extremists and ultras football supporters according to IBTimes.
Map of Major Protests
Map courtesy of Stratfor.
Pitchfork Protests Spread to Rome
Reuters reports Italy’s ‘pitchfork protests,’ in fourth day, spread to Rome.
Italy’s “pitchfork” protests spread to Rome on Thursday when hundreds of students clashed with police and threw firecrackers outside a university where government ministers were attending a conference.
Truckers, small businessmen, the unemployed, students and low-paid workers have staged four days of rallies in cities from Turin in the north to Sicily in the south in the name of the “pitchfork” movement, originally a loosely organized group of farmers from Sicily.
“There are millions of us and we are growing by the hour. This government has to go,” said Danilo Calvani, a farmer who has emerged as one of the leader of the protests.Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told parliament the unrest could “lead to a spiral of rebellion against national and European institutions.”
The protests are fuelled by falling incomes, unemployment above 12 percent and at a record 41 percent among people below 25, and graft and scandals among politicians widely seen as serving their own rather than the country’s interests.
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