In a conversation with a small group of foreign journalists, Pierluigi Bersani also said he hoped this Friday’s general strike against the budget would send a strong signal to the government to make changes to the plan. “I think three more years are too long for the government to survive given its current state of equilibrium,” said Bersani, head of the center-left Democratic Party. “When economic and social problems come to the fore ... and when Italians begin to realize that with this man at the helm they have not seen any gain, I think the coalition will have problems,” Bersani said.