Italian Lawmakers Face Backlash as Grillo’s Force Arrive
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Italy’s incumbent lawmakers, who united last year to impose austerity on taxpayers, are bracing for a fight over their own privileges as the upstart movement led by Beppe Grillo enters parliament and vies for key roles.
Up for grabs as the legislature convenes today are the speakerships of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, followed by appointments to budget committees and commission chairmanships. The posts could give Grillo’s Five Star Movement, which took a quarter of the votes in elections last month, enough leverage over the bodies’ more than 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in annual operating expenses.