An Italian businessman climbed to the very top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday, urging the Pope to help all those who suffered from the deepest economic recession that the country faced after the 2008 crisis.
Marcello Di Finzio unfurled a white banner that said “Help us, Pope Francis,” urging the government to put an end to all the measures taken to regulate the economy and to combat unemployment. “For God's sake, stop, you are killing us. Give us back our destinies, ”the banner read. Before venturing on such a desperate act, Di Fizio, the owner of a cafe in Trieste, wrote on his Facebook account: “They took everything from me, but they won’t be able to take away my self-esteem.”
It is worth noting that this is not the first attempt by a businessman to draw the attention of the authorities to the problem of Italy's extremely unstable economy. Last time, Di Fizio stood all night on the street, holding a poster in his hands showing his hostility to the European Union. It was the EU man who blamed for the problems faced by his native country. “They tricked me three times, but I won’t let them bring me to suicide. If they want to kill me (kill people), they will have to do it publicly so that it is clear that this is not a suicide, but a state crime, ”a protesting entrepreneur writes on his Facebook page.
Recently, in the headlines of newspapers more and more often flicker reports of the numerous suicides of business owners who simply could not adapt to the crisis of 2009 and were unprepared for its consequences.
For the first time, Marcello climbed onto St. Peter's Basilica on July 30, 2012, when, despite all the security measures taken in the Vatican, he reached his destination and launched the slogan. It was written on it: “Help !!! Stop Monti, international corporations and Europe. You are ruining us! This is not development, it is a meat grinder! ”The second attempt at protest was successful for the devastated Di Fizio on October 3, 2013. Firefighters tried to remove the protester from the basilica, but he still stood there for more than one hour.
In the fourth quarter of last year, analysts noted that the precarious economic situation in the country still began to improve slightly after the most protracted recession in Italy's recent history. Nevertheless, unemployment among the population does not leave any hopes so far. So, in January, the total number of unemployed Italians amounted to 12.9 percent, and the percentage of unemployed youth did reach a record high of 42.4 percent. Protests by entrepreneurs in Italy are not uncommon. For example, in December last year, dozens of businessmen took to the streets of Naples in their underwear, trying to express their dissatisfaction with the reform of municipal tariffs for garbage collection. Protesters said the proposed garbage tax is a “killer” that strangles trade.
