Italy's MPs, who are the highest paid in Europe, have been caught in a highly embarrassing expenses scandal that threatens to engulf the political classes.
As in many scandals, it is the little details that stick in the mind. During the British MPs' expenses furore, it was a Tory MP's claim for a wooden duck house; for Italians who are steadily working themselves into a fury over their MPs' expenses and salary gravy train, the piquant example concerns the parliamentary hairdressers – all nine of them – on €11,000 (£9,650) a month, each.
This example of the perks enjoyed by Italy's lawmakers is part of a stream of embarrassing disclosures from a disgruntled former parliament employee, calling himself Spider Truman, on a Facebook page entitled "The secrets of the society of Montecitorio", referring to the home of the Italian parliament.
Truman, who has been described as Italy's Julian Assange, also revealed how MPs' families and friends enjoy free flights through the parliamentary travel agency, benefit from reduced private tariffs from telephone companies, and can expect police escorts to cut a swathe through crowds when they or their families want to go shopping.
He has also claimed that many MPs report their computers and other expensive equipment stolen so as to fraudulently claim money for replacements. [...]
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