In almost every democratic state, elected representatives are giving fixed salaries across the board, regardless of who clocks in more hours. The Italian government has taken much criticism on the topic of their overpaid parliament and lack of participation within the European Union. In comparison to other European Union countries, the Italian parliament earns almost a whole fifty percent more in earnings then surrounding European Union parliaments. When one Italian parliament member makes 12,000 Euros a month, a Spanish parliament member would need to work a full four months to even compare to that figure. Does this mean that Italian parliament members are working four times as hard? It seems that it is scarcely the case.While Italian parliament members are criticized for their wealthy pockets, they are also constantly on the pressing stone about their dreadful attendance ratings. Five of the ten European Union Parliament Members ranked worst are Italians. These rankings are on the basis of attendance at plenary sessions and committee meetings, along with number of reports, and resolutions they produce. To fabricate a number comparing European Union Parliament Members is a very difficult task due to the outrage of parliament members on the matter. Flavien Deltort, an assistant to an Italian parliament member created a website to help the public assess their parliament members; the website was shut down within a week due to an overload of complaints coming from European Union Members of Parliament. This defense clearly supports the fact that behind closed doors, not much may be going on.
Written by Emily Marullo
Politics Intern at The Florence Newspaper
Original Article
www.florencenewspaper.it/vediarticolo.asp?news=b0.06.23.15.54
