Berlusconi avgår

"---After a decade as Berlusconi's most loyal coalition partner, the pro-devolution, anti-immigrant League has broken ranks in the centre right and now presents itself as the only political force fighting Monti's "blood-and-tears" reform agenda.

It bets the unpopular measures Monti was appointed to ram through will quickly erode support for his government, leading to snap polls next year -- and big wins for the League.

"This is a government of bankers and technocrats, imposed on us by the markets and Europe. Why should we be ruled by the spread (between Italian and German bonds)?" said Denis Zanaboni, a member of the local city government, which the League still runs in ticket with Berlusconi's PDL party.

"Can the same people who created this crisis be the ones who resolve it? We are the only party in the opposition, the only ones who are saying no, we will not let you do that at the expense of the people."

He pointed to Monti's past spell as an adviser to Goldman Sachs and his close ties to the European and global policy-making elite, echoing comments made by leftist students who greeted the new government by throwing eggs and fake dollar banknotes at bank branches in several Italian cities.---

Monti's cabinet, hurriedly sworn in as Italy tries to put a lid on its soaring borrowing costs, comprises a mix of academics and experienced administrators, and includes Corrado Passera, the former chief executive of Italy's biggest retail bank, as industry minister.

The fact that none of the new cabinet has been elected may make it harder to win popular support for new taxes, job cuts or pension reforms that could hit ordinary Italians hard.

"This government stinks," said the outspoken leader of the Northern League Umberto Bossi.

For the rank-and-file, the League is rightly going back to its roots as the defender of the interests of the hardworking and rich north threatened by central government and the poorer south which they see as corrupt and profligate.

While the call for a secession of the northern regions the League refers to as Padania is seen as more of a rallying slogan than a concrete threat, the party is unflinching in its demand for fiscal federalism -- increasing local autonomy and cutting subsidies from the north to the south.

One key plank of the League's federalism agenda is to establish the standard cost for basic public services and make sure all regions and city governments adhere to it, or pay the difference out of their own pockets.---"

"---Shock Force (in Italian Comitato Forza d'Urto) is a Sicilian political grouping which organized the Operation Sicilian Vespers, the 5 days long blockade of roads and seaports that have brought Sicily and its economy to a standstill in January 2012.

Under the Shock Force umbrella are represented other organisations[1], like the Pitchforks Movement (in Italian Movimento dei Forconi), an informal grouping of farmers, shepherds and breeders, or the Sicilian Trucking Association (in Italian Associazione Imprese Autotrasportatori Siciliani, AIAS), an association representing truck drivers and small logistics business interests. The founder of the Pitchforks movement was Martino Morsello, a 57 y.o. former Socialist councilor of Marsala.

Since the first day of the blockade, these have been joined and have gained widespread support from workers and small businesses in other sectors like the fishing industry, the building industry and also from the Sicilian students.

The Pitchforks Movement self-declares itself as “non-political” and “against party politcs”. Unusually, the protest has been joined by members of both extreme right wing and left wing organisations.

While the Pitchforks Movement has declared itself apolitical and politically agnostic, there have been claims it has as a closer relationship with the far-right party Forza Nuova, or with the Movement for Autonomies, the party of the sicilian head of government, Raffaele Lombardo.

However, also organisations close to the far left have joined the operation Sicilian Vespers protests.---"

"The Sicilian Vespers is the name given to the successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out on the Easter of 1282 against the rule of the French/Angevin king Charles I, who had ruled the Kingdom of Sicily since 1266. Within six weeks three thousand French men and women were slain by the rebels and the government of King Charles lost control of the island. It was the beginning of the eponymous War of the Sicilian Vespers.---"

"A long, standing ovation greeted Italy's Mario Monti when he entered the packed Card Room on the seventh floor of the New York Stock Exchange last week.---

"It's been impressive how quickly the sentiment has changed on Italy," said Charlie Himmelberg, managing director at Goldman Sachs, noting that the euro zone central bank had helped.

"With the ECB's LTRO (Long Term Refinancing Operation) having removed much of the funding pressure on banks, the bigger risk now would be renewed sovereign concerns due to weaker-than-expected macro data. The recession in Italy is continuing; it is only a matter of how long and deep it will be.---

Granted, the 200 and possibly more people in the boardroom at the NYSE last Friday were likely biased. A large number were members of the Bocconi Alumni Association of Milan's Bocconi University, where Monti taught for years. Others in the room and on the floor of the stock exchange were of Italian descent.---"