Self-serving politicians have an amazing capacity to endure, yet they occasionally cross the line and shoot themselves in the foot.
Such, I suspect, is the case with the current MEPs expenses scandal where the European Parliament's already shoddy reputation in national capitals has been further tarnished by its refusal to publish the report.
Following emergency discussions in the Conference of Presidents and the Parliamentary Bureau, the Budget Control committee voted yesterday not to make their findings public - a move supported by President Hans-Gert Pottering.
Everyone is hoping the story can be brushed under the carpet if they simply keep stum. Either because a) they are exploiting the system and fear the electoral consequences or because b) they fear a low turnout at next year's European elections, and thus, the electoral consequences.
Everyone, that is, except for a small band of feisty, media savvy MEPs who have openly aired their views to the press and are calling for those who defraud the public exchequer to be 'named and shamed'. Small wonder so many of their fellow parliamentarians are out to get them.
Sources tell me our esteemed representatives consider the threat to their livelihoods so great that they have requested large chunks of next week's Group Week to be put aside to discuss 'disciplining' these traitors.
This is the worst case of outright hypocrisy and shamelessness I have seen for some years from the peoples' representative. May they reap what they have sown when this becomes more widely known.
4 comments:
Nigel Farage does not employ his son in any capacity so I would correct that if I were you, and not trust everything you read in the papers.
Only my Lib Dem and UKIP MEPs got back to me after I asked if they would publish their expenses.
The LD pointed out she had already done so. The UKIP guy said that his expenses were "fully transparent" but he didn't give anywhere near as much detail as the LD.
No response so far from labour or tories...
Is this the moment where MEPs realise, "oops, we're all hopelessly corrupt aren't we. What the hell do we do now".
Although the parliament is distant enough and turnouts low enough that they're fairly immune to public antipathy.
Keep up the pressure, and the silencers off lists of candidates in the EP elections 2009.
trixy, that's interesting you should be so knowledgeable about Farage's finances. May I ask why? I learned this from a reliable (MEP) source, who claims he didnt understand how NF could be that stupid. But then, I didnt spend all day verifying my material, I am prepared to be wrong.
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