Just as Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s centre-right prime minister dogged by sex scandals and court cases, was defending his record on Friday at a press conference broadcast live on television, a protest march by left-wing students and workers passed largely unnoticed on the other side of the Tiber.

“These pieces of shit who are stealing our future! On to victory! On to victory!” called a student leader, his voice echoing over loudspeakers surrounded by red banners.