Reuters Storm clouds are gathering over Mario Monti's efforts to transform the Italian economy, with his approval ratings dropping, mounting protests against his reforms and a damaging row with the parties that sustain him in parliament. Monti shot out of the blocks after being appointed prime minister in November and quickly implemented tough austerity measures to fend off the debt crisis. But he now risks running into political quicksands that will slow down and weaken the much harder task of reviving a notoriously stagnant economy. A labor reform that is at the center of Monti's program has hit heavy opposition, forcing him to abandon immediate implementation and accept a parliamentary debate that will delay the law for months and could lead to it being diluted. The reform has also caused rifts in the center-left Democratic Party, his second-biggest parliamentary backer, destabilizing the alliance on which he depends to govern. Italy's borrowing costs, which fell sharply after Monti took power, have also begun to creep upwards recently, reflecting in part the increased political uncertainty. The technocrat premier was widely criticized by both politicians and commentators in Italy on Thursday for an outburst against the parties from Japan, where he was on an Asian tour intended to drum up foreign investment. Monti told reporters: “The government enjoys high support in opinion polls, the parties do not.” This followed remarks in South Korea where he threatened to step down if the parties and trade unions didn't like the job his administration was doing. Both remarks betray Monti's irritation at political sniping and opposition to his measures, particularly the key labour reform. They also mark a departure from the statesmanlike demeanour he adopted earlier in the year when he never lost an opportunity to laud the parties' sense of responsibility. Judging from reaction on Thursday, the previous approach was more prudent, and the former European Commissioner may have overplayed his trump card — the extreme reluctance of the parties to lead a government that must take painful and unpopular measures to ward off financial disaster. “This muscular exhibition risks compromising the good things achieved so far by this government, backed by responsible political parties,” commentator Pierluigi Battista said in a front-page editorial in the respected Corriere della Sera daily. Democratic Party (PD) leader Pier Luigi Bersani, under heavy pressure from the party's left wing over the labour reform, quickly shot back at Monti, underlining the interdependence between technocrats and politicians. “Either politicians and technocrats convince the country together or ... we will all get a kicking,” Bersani said. Monti was appointed as Italy tottered on the brink of a Greek-style debt crisis and politicians suffered widespread contempt for failing to head it off. But to govern, he is dependent on a grand political coalition stretching from the center-left to the center-right. Monti's irritability may reflect a drop in his approval ratings because of the labour reform, intended to free up a sclerotic dual system that gives cast-iron protection to older workers on permanent contracts while condemning many young people to endless temporary contracts without benefits. Most Italians do not seem to believe Monti's assertion that a reform making it easier to fire people will also create a fairer jobs market. A poll on Sunday found 67 percent of people opposed the measure. The same poll showed Monti's support falling to 44 percent last weekend from 62 percent in early March, although another poll on Wednesday registered a more modest drop to 55 percent this month from 59 percent in February. Nevertheless, his approval is way higher than that of the major parties, whose ratings are still below 30 percent. __
