(ANSA) - Cosenza, November 21 - Some 100 protesters wearing
masks made out of photos of Italy's premier with a Pinocchio
nose and calling for "income, housing and jobs" on Friday threw
bottles and flares at police near an auditorium where
center-left Premier Matteo Renzi is set to speak at the closure
of a campaign for regional elections in the southern Calabria
region.
One of the demonstrators was taken to hospital with a head
injury and three police officers suffered contusions when some
of the protesters - made up of extreme leftists, housing
activists, laid-off workers, and temp workers - tried to break
through a checkpoint. Police stopped them with a brief charge,
sources said.
The Calabria race sees five candidates pitted for the
governorship of the troubled southern region, including Mario
Oliverio from the premier's Democratic Party (PD), Wanda Ferro
from the center-right Forza Italia party of ex-premier Silvio
Berlusconi, and Cono Cantelmi from the anti-establishment 5-Star
Movement.
Anti-Renzi protesters clash with Calabria cops
One demonstrator and three police injured ahead of Renzi visit