More than a thousand people protesting against Berlusconi: “Resign!”

One thousand, maybe 1500 people came to protest, to say enough is enough. They had had enough of the commercialisation of women’s bodies, enough of the debasement of the dignity of women, enough of the policy of the bunga-bunga. Despite the light rain and the cold that had not been felt for days, Piazza Monte Grappa, in Varese, like one hundred other squares throughout Italy, became the gathering point for men, women and families, who came together to say, “If not now, when …”. In the square, there were placards, banners, handkerchiefs and white scarves, but no political party flags, even though some parties were officially present. The event was dedicated to women, and it is women who were the protagonists. Messages were read out from female trade unionists, teachers, politicians and “ordinary” women, who had come together to call for the resignation of a Prime Minister who no longer represents them. The square was colourful, full, and alive. There were not only the “usual” faces, but also people who had not been part of any protest for some time. “It’s the last straw, getting angry is the least we can do, and we want to say it with force,” many women told us. Some of the women had small children in their arms, or in baby slings. Others had chosen to leave their husbands at home to look after their children, determined to be there in person, at all costs. And some women would make a double protest: the morning in Varese, the afternoon in Milan. Their messages against the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, were strong, ironic and harsh. The music of Fiorella Mannoia got the event going, as Piazza Monte Grappa gradually filled up; first 500, then 700, then over 1000, maybe as many as 1500 five hundred people. The weather and the disenchantment with protests might have led to expectations of smaller numbers, but no, the women and men of Varese were out in force, to say that they too were there, that they were “tired of the politics that thinks of nothing except of the sexual ‘exploits’ of the Prime Minister.” And several times during the event, a chorus rose, timidly at first, then with increasing strength, of “Resign!”.