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In another victory for traditionalism and family values, Italy's new populist government has moved to reverse the previous "Bugman" administration's decision to allow trading and shopping on Sundays.
As reported by the Daily Mail:
The new Italian government will introduce a ban on Sunday shopping in large commercial centres before the end of the year.
The right-leaning government will move to tighten trading rules in an effort to defend family traditions, deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday.
Former Italian PM Mario Monti liberalised Sunday trading in 2012 in a bid to spur economic growth during the eurozone crisis.
He faced pressure from the Roman Catholic Church and unions who said the country needed to keep its traditional day of rest.
'This liberalisation is in fact destroying Italian families,' said Di Maio, who is head of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement. 'We need to start limiting opening and closing times again,' he said.
Earlier this year, Poland restricted Sunday shopping as the conservative government in Warsaw pushed ahead with what it said was a return to Roman Catholic values.
The Italian and Polish initiatives run against a slow liberalisation of Sunday shopping hours throughout Europe, where retailers face pressure from a boom in online shopping.
Small shopkeepers in Italy have long sought to overturn Monti's reform, saying their businesses face unfair competition from the big malls.
It is great to see governments finally starting to stand up to corporate greed and rampant consumerism in the name of protecting the integrity of the family.
Europe is in a war -- a war against the Bugman ethos of permanent shopping by an interchangeable population of zombie consumers. Every small victory, even one like this, is important.
Europe is in a war -- a war against the Bugman ethos of permanent shopping by an interchangeable population of zombie consumers. Every small victory, even one like this, is important.
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