Last-minute amendments to the budget law, including a €7300 salary increase for unelected ministers each, caused an uproar in the Italian parliament.
In response to the budget amendments, all opposition groups except Azione, including the Democratic Party, Five Star Movement, Italia Viva, and Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, sent a joint letter to Parliament Speaker Lorenzo Fontana. They demanded that the Speaker declare the amendments inadmissible.
However, Fontana rejected the demand, emphasising that opposition MPs still had tools at their disposal, such as making further amendments and scrutinising detailed reports to compensate for the lack of technical notes.
One of the most controversial amendments proposed was to bring the salaries of unelected ministers in line with those of their counterparts in Parliament. The stark comparisons between the potential €7,300 monthly salary increase for ministers and the monthly pension increase of just €1.80 included in the budget sparked outrage on social media.
At a meeting of the parliamentary budget committee on Monday, Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein also lambasted the government for its proposed salary increases for ministers.
You believe the work of your ministers is worth a thousand times more than that of the nurses caring for Italians. I want to believe there’s still room to change course on public healthcare, to pass this amendment together and send a message to the whole country.
The opposition further stated that the number and variety of amendments effectively created a second budget bill, making it impossible to properly evaluate them in the limited time available. The government has until 31 December to pass the budget and avoid a preliminary expenditure schedule.
Another controversial proposal known as the “anti-Renzi law” also attracted considerable attention. The measure required government officials associated with companies outside the EU to give 100 per cent of their income to the state. Former Prime Minister and Italia Viva leader, Matteo Renzi, denounced it as a personal attack.
Activities like international conferences are something only I do. Everyone knows this is a law tailored ad personam. The real scandal is how this majority operates in secret, introducing last-minute amendments and shutting down debate with confidence votes.
Italian Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto eventually confirmed that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni‘s government would withdraw the amendment.
