ABSTRACT: Letter to the President of the Chamber deploring the fact that the President, in agreement with the President of the Senate, Mr Fanfani, has drafted a budget blueprint for the parties that does not allow, and in fact prevents, effective controls on public financing and on the use of the funds obtained by the parties.

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Mrs President,

the Radical Group openly opposed the bill of November 1981 on the public financing of political parties. Following that action, the "escalator" of the public financing was scrapped; the group also wanted to prevent the passage of a rise in the billions already established by the previous bill and obtain better and greater controls on the budgets and on the financial activities of the parties.

This parliamentary action was concluded by the passage of a bill which doubled the share of public financing and delegated de facto the drafting of a budget blueprint apt to control the parties' financial activities to the President of the Chamber in cooperation with the President of the Senate. As expressed today on "La Repubblica" by the colleagues Minervini and Spaventa, the draft budget you have developed prevents any effective control.

We do not hesitate to say that we regret this, both for the country and for yourself.

You had the opportunity to introduce elements of transparency and control. Allowing the possibility to know the parties' asset and liability statement, the shares in companies, their credit and debit status, would have meant serving the citizens and politics. Preventing it, as your recent decree establishes, means favouring, de facto, the spoils systems, corruption, the havoc and occupation of public bodies and theft in the name of the party.

A debate is under way on whether or not to keep into effect the "secret ballot" in Parliament.

But no one mentions the parties' "secret funds": your decision encourages and endorses this silence.

We ignore the reasons for this choice, but urge you to change your mind.

Faithfully,

Emma Bonino

(President of the Radical Parliamentary Group)

Marcello Crivellini

(Treasurer of the RP)