Luigi Di Maio, a senior member
of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the Lower
House Deputy Speaker, described Italy's 'vitalizi' parliamentary
pensions as medieval as he presented a proposal to abolish them
on Monday.
Unlike ordinary pensions, 'vitalizi' are paid from when a
person leaves parliament, not when they reach retirement age.
They are frequently portrayed by critics as a symbol of the
privileges the Italian political class gives itself.
"This is a medieval privilege that we want to abolish with 20
lines of text and a simple resolution," said Di Maio, who is
frequently tipped to be a future M5S premier candidate.
He also accused ex-premier Matteo Renzi, who is running to be
re-elected head of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), of
mimicking the M5S with his new job-guarantee proposal, the
'citizen's job'.
The M5S has proposed a 'citizen's income' benefit be
established to ensure people who are out of work, including
those not eligible for unemployment benefit, have enough money
to meet their basic needs.
"He has taken our proposal, the citizen's income, and
replaced it with the 'citizen's job'. This is just an operation
in political marketing," Di Maio.
"The public have seen through this".
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