“I’m Putin’s neice” read one of the many signs hoisted above the heads of a crowd of nine thousand that jammed Campo San Margherita on Sunday morning. This particular phrase was playing off “Ruby,” the Moraccan belly dancer’s comment of “I’m Hosni Mubarak’s neice,” explaining her presence at one of Berlusconi’s now-famous “bunga-bunga” parties, where he was accused not only of purchasing her sexual services, but having her freed when she was later arrested on a theft charge. Ah, the perks of Prime Ministership.

“Se non ora, quando?” (If not now, when?) brought not only women of every conceivable age, race, and national origin into the piazze all across Italy on Sunday morning, but an equally diverse cross-section of men who are just as disgusted with the behavior Berlusconi evidently considers his prerogative. The signs got their message across: “More kindergartens, fewer bordellos,” “Our dignity isn’t in peril, it’s the country that’s at risk,” and one of my favorites: Basta PORCOcrazia – Enough PIG-ocracy.

The local rag the Gazzettino thought the event was significant enough to put on page 8 of the daily. That alone makes their point, don’t you think?

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For more details on Sunday’s protests, see

• Alex Roe’s BlogfromItaly.com
• Se non ora, quando? (official site, there is English, too)
• A Day of Protest in 200 Cities, London Telegraph