Italian MPs are facing a backlash over multimillion-euro perks including trips to saunas and haircuts while the rest of the nation faces new medical charges designed to balance the national books.
Two days after the Italian parliament passed an austerity budget to keep the eurozone crisis at bay, hospitals were carrying out two of the budget's key provisions – a new €10 charge for specialist appointments and a €25 fee for casualty visits, part of a series of measures expected to cost families around €500 a year.
But critics pointed out that as the budget was being debated last week, MPs for Silvio Berlusconi's Freedom People party quietly added amendments watering down proposed cuts to their own pay, currently €65,839 after taxes.
Beyond that, benefits up to €117,000 a year that MPs can claim without showing receipts for housing, office staff, telephones and travel — on top of free rail and air tickets — escaped unscathed, as well their subsidised healthcare plan, which costs €10.1m a year.
A breakdown of the outlay on medical care published by newspaper La Repubblica on Sunday revealed Italy's 630 MPs are racking up €3m a year on dentistry, €257,000 on psychiatric bills and €204,000 on thermal baths.
"The government and opposition have again teamed up to protect privileges which are unequalled in Europe," said union leader Raffaele Bonanni.
Over the weekend, tens of thousands of Italians linked to a Facebook page on which an anonymous former employee at the Italian parliament posted documents detailing more of the peculiar benefits enjoyed by MPs, including in-house haircuts.
As Italy tightens its belt to tackle the downturn, young models in Milan demanded the right to work at the weekend. Employed to appear in shorts and bikinis as live mannequins in the window of department store Coin, the models were criticised last week by Italian unions for taking on work deemed degrading. But on Saturday, the male and female models were back on view, this time toting signs stating "Modelling is also a job."