Presidente da Câmara dos Comuns, um picareta / House of Common's new Spakers, another crook

Não cessam os paralelos entre os parlamentares brasileiros e os britânicos.

O novo presidente (Speaker) da Casa dos Comuns, ou Câmara dos Deputados britânica, que há pouco tempo substituiu o antecessor, que renunciou no escândalo dos gastos parlamentares, tem telhado de vidro.

John Bercow tem um belo apartamento em londres reformado à custa do contribuinte, por $ 20.000 libras, quase US$ 34.000, ou ainda, cerca de R$ 70.000.

Ele havia prometido restaurar a confiança do público na Parlamento e disse que não mais cobraria despesas referentes a uma segunda residência - o auxílio-moradia de nossos deputados e senadores brazucas.

Mas poucas semanas após assumir o cargo, ele encomendou uma generosa reforma para sua casa, livre de aluguel, no Palácio de Westminster.

Ele se justifica dizendo que são necessárias porque seus três filhos pequenos também morarão no apartamento. Os trabalhos, no entanto, serão efetivamente pagos pelo - adivinhou! - contribuinte, por meio do orçamento da Diretoria de Imóveis do Parlamento, que executa os trabalhos em Westminster.

Em sua campanha, Bercow prometeu: “É mais do que hora de a Casa ser conduzida por profissionais, em bases transparentes, assegurando que sejamos "accountable" (prestadores de contas) para as pessoas que nos colocaram aqui, os eleitores.”

Ele disse que renunciaria às $ 24.006 libras anuais de auxílio-moradia, e faria algumas mudanças na residência oficial. Trocou seis por meia dúzia, mais exatamente $ 20.659,36.

Tem mais: há poucos dias, no recesso parlamentar, ele dobrou o valor de um item de reembolso para todos os parlamentares.

MPs' expenses: speaker John Bercow's £20,000 bill for apartment

John Bercow, the new Speaker of the House of Commons, is having his lavish grace-and-favour apartment in the Palace of Westminster refurbished at a cost of £20,000 to the taxpayer. Mr Bercow was elected Speaker in June after Mr Martin was forced from office over his poor handling of the expenses scandal..

In the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal, Mr Bercow promised to help restore public trust in Parliament and said he would stop claiming the controversial second home allowance.

But within weeks of being elected to his new position, he has ordered a series of alterations, redecoration and new furnishings for his rent-free home in the Palace of Westminster. He says that many of them are necessary because his three young children will also be living in the apartment. The work will effectively be paid for by the taxpayer, through the budget of the Parliamentary Estates Directorate, which carries out work at the Palace of Westminster. Mr Bercow, the Conservative MP for Buckingham, was elected Speaker in June after Mr Martin was forced from office over his poor handling of the expenses scandal.

Mr Bercow vowed to be a modernising influence on Parliament in the wake of the disclosures by this newspaper. During his campaign, he said: “It is high time the House was run by professionals on a transparent basis, ensuring that we are accountable to the people who put us here.”

After winning the contest, he declared he would stop claiming the second home allowance, which is worth up to £24,006 to MPs this year. He also announced that he would need to make some changes to Speaker’s House to accommodate his wife Sally, his two sons, Oliver, five, and Freddie, three, and his daughter, Jemima, one.

A few weeks ago, during holidays, he doubled an item of expenses allowances for all MPs.