A new storm hits the 5 Star Movement and his former parliamentarians who, since October 2022, no longer sit between the benches of the Chamber and the Senate. In fact, there would be as many as 30 former deputies and senators who, at the end of the last legislature, raced to grab anybooklets of train tickets for free travel until the last days of the mandate. Some, however, have also been screwed.
Free tickets, the controversy over the Movement
The case was opened by an investigation by Il Foglio which revealed that 38 former MPs in recent months have requested free travel documents from the agency affiliated with the Chamber Carlson Wagonlit. According to what emerges, as many as 30 of these would be former appointees of the 5 Star Movement who today, more or less, are still part of the party.
According to the investigation by the newspaper, which knows the names and surnames of the parliamentarians involved, between July and October there would have been a real race for ticket books for trains, to travel for free. The figures, it emerges, would be different between deputies and senators: some have asked trips for a total of 1,345, others even for over 11,000. The total expenditure was 82,520, of which 50,740 in October alone.
From the fall of the Draghi government to the entrance of the Meloni executive, therefore, there are those who wanted to take advantage of it to roam undisturbed between North and South, but the offices of the Chamber were also reminded that the Free travel is valid only as long as it is charged. So some have turned around and returned the requested tickets, while others continue to use them. In fact, the crafty ones take full advantage of them since they are valid for six months and to be able to use them, all you need is a code which, once entered, allows you to purchase the ticket online without additional costs, let alone present the card of member of Parliament currently in office (here we told you about Beppe Grillo’s salary as a “communicator” of the Five Star Movement).
Who are the MPs involved?
As mentioned, the investigation was conducted by Il Foglio which, through contacts with the Carlson Wagonlit agency, which has an agreement with the Chamber, came into possession of the documents and requests of many parliamentarians. In the hands of the journalists of the newspaper, therefore, there is the list of 38 “crafty” former parliamentarians, of which it seems 30 are pentastellati or former members of the group.
At the moment Il Foglio has not wanted to disclose the names, but what emerges is that of the 30 at least 10 are still in the parliamentary group of the 5 Star Movement until the end of the legislature, but they were not re-candidates for the second mandate, while the same number come from Together for the future, i.e. the political formation created ad hoc by Luigi Di Maio after the split (here we told you about the controversy over his severance pay not returned to the Movement). The other 10 were instead in the Mixed group, but they too were elected under the 5 Stars in 2018.
Regarding the last eight, Il Foglio underlines, there are four Renzians, two Northern League members, a member of parliament from the Brothers of Italy and one from the Democratic Party.
