Italian student strikes continue

Students in Italy have vowed to continue their campaign against funding cuts in education, despite the government’s threat to send in the police. Many universities have been paralysed by student strikes, prompting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to consider strong-arm measures.

Opposition leader Walter Veltroni deplored that threat, saying Berlusconi was fanning the flames. What will happen, he said, if workers campaign against job cuts?

The government’s education reforms come as Italy, like much of the world, struggles to balance the budget in the face of the economic slowdown. The proposed cuts have already provoked violent clashes on the streets.

Primary schools face strike action at the end of this month, and university and college students have called a walkout for November 14. Berlusconi insists he will not tolerate schools and colleges being disrupted, and said students who want to study will be protected.

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