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Communist Refoundation Rally Draws 200,000

Workers World, 6 November 1997

An estimated 200,000 people took to the streets of Rome on Oct. 25 in support of the Communist Refoundation Party.

Demonstrators carried slogans demanding a 35-hour work week - a rallying cry both in Italy and in neighboring France.

The strong showing was a slap in the face for those politicians who scolded the Communist Refoundation for withholding parliamentary support for an austerity budget in early October and nearly forcing the government's collapse.

The party agreed to support the budget after winning a pledge to introduce the 35-hour week by 2001 and restore some $300 million from budget cuts.

Business leaders are already howling about Prime Minister Romano Prodi's commitment - however vague - to a shorter work week.

CR leaders Fausto Bertinotti and Armando Cossuta announced that 1,600 people had joined the party since the parliamentary showdown.

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