ROME (AP) — Prime Minister Mario Monti is asking Italian lawmakers to take a salary cut as part of a broader effort to trim the privileges of the country's political elite.
The government said in a statement Monday that Monti sent a decree to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate that would cap salaries for members of both houses of the Italian parliament — who are among the best-paid in Europe. The move is part of an austerity package, nicknamed "Save Italy," passed in December in a bid to trim the costs of bureaucracy.
The deputy speaker of the lower house, Rocco Buttiglione, said the request would be approved.
The cuts are a hallmark of Monti's government, which has pledged to get rid of privileges that have angered many Italians. Monti himself has renounced his own salary as premier and economy minister.