A pensioner sits by a banner reading "And they call it summer" outside the italian parliament after a demonstration on July 15, 2011 in Rome
Filippo Monteforte / AFP / Getty Images
It's been a hot summer for Italy's politicians. First, many of them had to postpone their holidays to try to calm a skittish bond market with a ?50 billion ($70 billion) austerity plan. Then the markets continued to buck and kick, forcing the government to propose ever more controversial cuts and taxes. And on top of all that, somebody leaked the menu from the senate restaurant.
Suddenly on the nation's front pages, slashes in government spending were juxtaposed with taxpayer-subsidized meals served on white tablecloths by men in livery: risotto with turbot and zucchini flowers for ?3.34 ($4.70); grilled swordfish at ?3.55 ($4.99); a choice of dessert, ?2.45 ($3.45). The cut-rate prices, coming at a time when the cost of a meal in Italy has climbed to unprecedented levels, infuriated a public already fed up with the disproportionate compensation enjoyed by its ruling elite. "In this time of crisis, when we are asking sacrifices of Italian citizens, politicians need to exhibit a bit of sobriety," says Carlo Monai, the opposition parliamentarian who leaked the menu. (See if the Eurozone should become a 'United States of Europe.')
Italians have long held a different view than Americans about who should be in charge of the country: the Italian ideal is more philosopher king than brush-clearing everyman. But as regard for politicians has plunged, more and more of the country's citizens are asking just what it is that they're paying for. "When the halls of parliament were full of people you could admire ? people who had taken to the hills for their country, had been to jail, in exile ? nobody had any problems with the privileges they enjoyed," a former parliamentary assistant who blogs anonymously under the name Spider Truman says in an email to TIME. "Today, parliament is full of parasites, illiterates, turncoats, prostitutes, without any principle or goal other than personal enrichment."
The parliament and the senate sit not far from each other in downtown Rome. Inside each building, politicians have access to banks, tobacco shops, post offices, barber shops, bars, and restaurants. Each month, every member of parliament receives an after-tax payment of roughly ?5,500 ($7,700), plus a ?4,000 ($5,600) living allowance. In addition, they are given another ?4,000 ($5,600) each month for expenses, which they can use to hire an assistant or simply pocket. Multiply that by the country's 630 MPs and 321 senators, who are similarly compensated, and pretty soon you're talking real money. (See pictures of Berlusconi and the politics of sex.)
Italy's national politicians also travel free on the country's planes, trains and toll roads. They can attend premier soccer games without paying. Many are provided with a car and chauffeur. Parliamentary sessions usually begin on Tuesday afternoon and wrap up by Thursday morning. "If you average it out over the course of the year, it comes to a two-and-half-hour workweek," says Marco Perduca, a senator who has been critical of parliamentary privileges. Members aren't required to quit their day jobs.
But perhaps the most controversial privilege is the pension that former politicians receive when they reach the age of retirement. "If you work five years, you will get a pension for which other people would have had to work for 40 years," says Perduca. Payments start upwards of ?2,500 ($3,500) a month and climb with time in office. According to the newsmagazine L'espresso, dozens of retired politicians receive monthly payments of more than ?9,000 ($12,700). Former parliamentarians and senators also get complimentary flights for five years after leaving office. Motorways remain free for life.
The public outcry triggered by the lavish menu and harsh austerity packages has prompted some soul searching among the Italian elite, which has come to be referred to as The Caste. The president of the senate has pledged to bring prices in the restaurant in line with costs. Both houses have promised slight cuts in expenses, including salaries; a measure in parliament has been proposed that would drop compensation for those members who continue with their day jobs; and some have even floated the idea of cutting the number of national politicians. (See why Italy's government Is suddenly all about austerity.)
But as the Senate voted on Wednesday to pass a new package of austerity measures, including hikes in the value added tax, rises in the minimum pension age, and additional taxes on the nation's highest earners ? with the Lower House expected to follow suit later in the week ? critics of the country's politicians insist it's too little too late. "The privileges of The Caste have become a symbol of the social injustice of our country," says Spider Truman. "If they think that it's enough to raise the prices in the restaurant in parliament or to freeze for a while the raises in their stipends, they're making a big mistake."
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/time/world/~3/QlqRaZr7gKA/0,8599,2092247,00.html
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