Anti-austerity protesters camp in Rome

Anti-austerity protesters camp outside the Bank of Italy in Rome amid growing demonstrations against the Italian government’s cost-cutting measures.

The protesters put up tents outside the bank’s headquarters in the Italian capital on Thursday after a speech by its governor, Mario Draghi, who said Rome had wasted too much time in reforming its economy, Reuters reported.

Draghi had warned during a conference commemorating the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Italian republic that rising bond yields could render the government’s recent 60-billion-euro austerity plan ineffective.

The governor, who will step down in November to head the European Central Bank (ECB), had further called for an urgent implementation of the austerity measures, which were approved by parliament last month.

The outraged public had also blocked the street in front of the bank’s headquarters ahead of Draghi’s address, which came amid heavy presence of security forces.

The Italian economy has been stagnant over the past decade. Growth is expected to be less than one percent for this year and could be arrested in 2012.

The volume of the country’s debt burden equals 1.77 trillion euros (USD 2.45 trillion), standing only second to Greece in the eurozone and calculated at 120 percent of its gross domestic product.

The Italian government introduced the austerity plan under pressure from the ECB to placate market concerns over its ability to check its huge public debt.