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POLITICS

Ex-Italian MPs leave €20k tab at parliament bar

The managers of the MPs bar in Palazzo Montecitorio, the seat of Italy's lower house of parliament, are asking the government to probe €20,000 in unpaid bar tabs.

Ex-Italian MPs leave €20k tab at parliament bar
The MPs bar at Palazzo Montecitorio. Photo: Facebook

La Repubblica reported that 34 former MPs who left the chamber in 2013, after either failing to be re-elected or moving into the upper house, simply moved on without settling their debts at the bar.

The unpaid bills range between €300 and €800, with the combined total reaching almost €20,000.

But how could such a huge amount of debt have been racked-up in the first place?

In order to make a purchase at the bar, each MP is given a plastic card that can be topped up with cash.

However, to avoid the inconvenient and embarrassing moments when stressed-out members of parliament want to grab a quick bite but have no money on their cards, they are also allowed to go overdrawn, so long as they pay what they owe back.

But it seems many of the MPs never did.

After discovering the scale of the problem last week, the bar's administration finally cancelled the 34 cards which still had open accounts and compiled a report.

Now, the unpaid debts will need to be settled.

It is likely that the issue will be presented before the president of the chamber, Laura Boldrini, as soon as the MPs get back from their summer break.

The wood panelled bar at Palazzo Montecitorio is modestly priced, although the chamber's 630 MPs did grumble in 2012 when prices rose, pushing the cost of a coffee up to €0.80 and the price of a sandwich to €2.50.

Italian MPs are among the highest paid in Europe, taking home an average of €172,000 a year, according to figures from 2013. 

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TERRORISM

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy was to increase surveillance in busy areas ahead of the Easter holidays and following the bombing of a Moscow concert hall, ministers agreed on Monday.

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy’s national committee for public security, chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on Monday said anti-terrorism monitoring in Italy must be strengthened ahead of the Easter holidays, with more surveillance to be carried out at popular tourist spots and at “sensitive sites”.

The committee agreed on “the importance of continuing monitoring activity, including online, by police and intelligence forces for the identification of possible risk situations” in Italy, reported news agency Ansa.

The security meeting was convened following the terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday where armed men opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing at least 133 people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had stressed to the public on Sunday that Italy faced “no concrete risk” and said the country’s security and law enforcement services were “always on the alert to prevent any attack.”

“During the Easter holidays you will need to be very careful. We will always do the utmost to ensure the safety of citizens and tourists,” Tajani said, speaking on national broadcaster Rai’s current affairs show Restart.

READ ALSO: Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

The fight against terrorism “has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine,” the minister continued.

“We support Ukraine” as an invaded country in which international law has been violated, he said, “but as the Italian government we have expressed our condemnation of the attack [in Moscow] and closeness to the families of the victims and the survivors”.

Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano said on the same programme that the main terrorist threat Italy faced at the moment was mainly from “lone wolves” and “not so much from organised groups.”

“I believe that a group like the one that acted in the Moscow attack, which must have been trained and had logistical support, would be intercepted sooner in Italy,” he said.

“The most worrying threat” in Italy was online recruitment, he said, noting that propaganda was closely monitored.

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