ROME – Franco Fiorito, a member of the regional council of Lazio, the Italian region that includes Rome, was known ironically among his friends as Batman. It was a nickname he earned when he managed to fall off a Harley Davidson still on a kickstand.

But rather than a superhero, he looks like an actor out of “The Sopranos” with his slicked-back hairstyle, striped double-breasted suit, bulky figure and bigger than life personality.   

Fiorito, a member of Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PDL), was accused earlier this month of embezzling at least $1.5 million of public funds to pay for everything from oyster dinners, to hotels, aides and apartments.

Fiorito, who has since resigned, fought the allegations by telling investigators that fellow party members behaved worse than he did – putting the spotlight on regional president Renata Polverini.

The scandal proved too much for Polverini, who resigned on Monday, and damaged the reputation of Berlusconi’s already weakened party.

She denied allegations of any wrong-doing on her part, but admitted that the scandal had exposed infighting within the PDL party and had stripped the regional council of some legitimacy.   

But most importantly, it stands as a symbol of a political class that has lost touch with the electorate, and carries on living a lavish lifestyle financed with public funds at a time when most Italians struggle to get by.

“Why did they call him Batman? He sounds more like the joker to me,” said Carla Cecchini, a receptionist from Rome who was waiting at a bus stop in Rome on Wednesday morning. “He is not even that smart. We know they are all thieves, but this guy didn’t even try to hide it. He is shameless.”

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Toga party photos
Apparently Fiorito is not as brazen as another member of the regional council.

Only days ago, pictures emerged of a lavish toga party organized in 2010 by Carlo de Romanis, a 32-year- old member of Berlusconi’s party.  

Romanis organized the party to celebrate his election to the regional council and his return to Rome after eight years working at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The theme of the party, “Ulysses returns home and fights his enemies,” was taken seriously by his 2,000 guests. They showed up dressed up as ancient Roman maidservants, gladiators, patricians in laurel wreaths and minotaurs, drinking from ancient-looking jars. Pictures emerged of guests feeding each other grapes, as well as men wearing pig masks fondling female guests.

 A party worthy of the last days of ancient Rome, when the narcissistic and decadent elite kept enjoying a lavish lifestyle while the empire was falling apart all around them.

The similarities might not be so far-fetched. Even though Carlo “Ulysses De Romanis” insists the $30,000 he paid for the party came from his own pocket, it still upset many Italians who are tired of seeing the political elite enjoying the lifestyle of emperors while they feel the strain of the recent austerity measures and the economic crisis.

Alex Biasco, a DJ in Milan, told NBC News that the Italian public is partly to blame as well. He said they like to complain about the widespread abuse of office, without acting to bring about any changes.

“Look at the Spanish: they fill the squares in Madrid to demand the resignation of unfit politicians,” said Biasco.  “While in Italy we have had politicians who stole for decades, who are corrupt to the core…and yet, Italians only fill their squares when their soccer teams win.”

Luca Orsenigo, a 38-year-old telecom manager from Milan, had a similar complaint. 

“We got to this point because we deserve it. Instead of going to prison, these people are invited to defend themselves on talk-shows," said Orsenigo, referring to the many TV appearances Fiorito enjoyed after the scandal broke. "As long as these people go unpunished, nothing will change”

Cocaine bust
More proof of widespread corruption among Italian governmental institutions came on Tuesday, when the head of the postal service in the Italian Senate was arrested for cocaine trafficking, police said.

Orlando Ranaldi, 53, is accused of being part of a criminal gang 10 Italians and Albanians who ran a cocaine ring in southern Rome. While not a politician, Orlando held a managerial position in Italy’s upper house of parliament.  

 "I only hope that he didn't push inside the Senate," Senator Felice Belisario of the Italy of Values party told Reuters.

Roberta, a housewife from Rome who gave only her first name, jumped to her own conclusions.   

“They are all living the high life, and I can’t believe the guy wasn’t doing ‘favors’ to the political elite,” she said.  

The recent revelations of Champagne-filled toga parties, embezzlement of public funds and cocaine heists have only contributed to widening the gap between the political elite and the electorate. 

“Once again we are showing the world how corrupt we are.  But Italians, thank God, are not all like Batman and Ulysses,” Alessandra Scolaro, a website designer and member of the People of Freedom party from the Veneto region, told NBC News. “The best Italians are those who wake up every morning and go to work. And those who make us proud by raising the bar of Italian creativity in the arts and fashion industries. This is the real Italy.”

While Italians aren’t likely to descend to the squares to protest and try to get rid of the political class the hard way, they will have the opportunity to bring change in the general elections next spring. 

 

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TOKYO - Japan's government could run out of money by the end of October, halting all state spending including salaries, pensions and unemployment benefits, because of a standoff in parliament that has blocked a bill to finance the deficit.

The deficit financing bill, which would allow the government to sell bonds needed to fund almost half of the budget, has languished in parliament as the ruling Democratic Party tussles with opposition parties that can use their control of the upper house to reject legislation.

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"Without this bill, the budget will collapse," Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Friday, pleading for cooperation from the two largest opposition parties.

"It doesn't matter which party is in power. I really hope that we can get a multi-partisan agreement on the deficit bill."

If the bill is not passed, government spending would grind to a halt, the world's third-largest economy would be put in jeopardy and its standing among credit ratings agencies could suffer.

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Japan is not the only developed nation that is staring at an imminent fiscal crisis. Greece's debt-strapped government could run out of money within weeks unless it secures a 31.8 billion euro ($39.42 billion) tranche of bailout funds from the European Union.

The U.S. economy is facing $4 trillion worth of expiring tax cuts and automatic government spending reductions at the end of the year, and a standoff in Congress makes the chance of a compromise over the so-called "fiscal cliff" look dim.

The impasse in Japan however comes just after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda won over the opposition to pass an increase in sales tax in the lower house of parliament. However, a section of his party quit over the vote, and is poised to form a new party.

Noda's Democrats still control a majority in the lower house of parliament, but are outnumbered by the opposition in the upper house. Many analysts say mid-term elections could be called.

"There's so much uncertainty over the political outlook that it's hard to say how big the risk is of the government running out of cash," said Naoki Iizuka, senior economist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

"The key would be the timing of any snap election and who would be leading the Democratic Party at the time."

Opposition parties have threatened to delay Japan's deficit financing bill in the past but have eventually yielded and voted in favor. This time, however, the opposition may be more emboldened because of the row over the sales tax hike.

World's largest debt burden
Japan's budget for the current fiscal year that started in April totals 90.3 trillion yen ($1.13 trillion).

The deficit financing bill allows Japan to sell 38.3 trillion yen in government bonds to fund the budget. The remainder is funded by tax revenue, non-tax revenue and income from bonds earmarked for public works projects.

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Government expenditure is forecast to reach 43.9 trillion yen by the end of September, Azumi said.

Assuming that the deficit financing bill does not pass, the government would have only 46.1 trillion yen on hand, Azumi said. This means the government is sure to run out of money by the end of October, he said.

The first in line to take a hit if Japan starts running out of money would be regional governments, which rely on tax grants from the national government for much of their spending.

The Finance Ministry could start cutting tax grants to local governments in September if there is no sign that the deficit financing bill will pass, Azumi said.

The government would try to prioritize pension and unemployment payments, but once the money runs out, there is not much the government can do, finance ministry bureaucrats have said.

Prime Minister Noda could reach an agreement with opposition parties to provide some temporary funding. However, Noda does not have the right to override parliament on the voting of the deficit funding bill.

Japan already has the world's largest debt burden at nearly twice the size of its $5 trillion economy, and a breakdown in fiscal spending could increase skepticism that politicians are losing their grip on public finances.

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