When the so-called cheque scandal was sweeping through municipal councillors, mayors and several ministers, some parliamentarians rejoiced when they got to talk about the wickedness of squandering taxpayers' money.
However, there was a palpable concern that Let's Make It Transparent campaign would spill over into the Seimas. Now, it turns out that parliamentarians were right to be worried – they felt that they were about to get their feathers ruffled.
Indeed, MPs have yet to be heard of filling their cars with tons of petrol, but there are plenty of other stories.
After the past scandals, the most notorious was leasing luxury cars with parliamentary allowances; MPs' expenses have been more strictly defined. Still, their appetite for electronics, for example, has surpassed the imaginations of municipal councillors.
One of the leaders of the Social Democrats, Jonava Mayor Sinkevičius, who was even seen as possible candidate for Prime Minister after the parliamentary elections, was burnt by TV sets and his wife's phone bills, which amounted to just €1,500.
Law enforcement authorities suspected him of embezzlement of funds intended for his activities as a councillor; the politician had to suspend his party membership and was permanently out of the national political league.
Of course, if only they could turn back the clock, probably all politicians who have been similarly let down, apparently having succumbed to greed and not suspecting that they would be caught red-handed, would not slip in so cheaply and ruin their political careers.
Even the then Liberal leader Masiulis, who was carrying hundreds of thousands of euros, not 1,500 euros, but hundreds of thousands of euros in a bottle of drinks, and who was already wearing the Prime Minister's hat, would not have slipped up for any money if he had suspected that he might get caught in this way.
The belief that there will be no harm was probably the trigger that tempted the members of the Seimas to rush to spend the funds allocated for parliamentary activities on all kinds of purchases.
It emerged that 19 MPs rushed to buy electronic equipment a year before the end of their term of office when it was still possible to buy it with parliamentary funds and keep it for oneself, leaving Seimas.
The MPs probably did not break the law, and law enforcement will not be able to intervene as it would in the case of an investigation into municipal expenditure, but there are moral questions.
The anger that the scandal of the cheque scandal was crushing the municipal politicians of the competing parties was instantly replaced by anger when Let’s Make it Transparent campaign started to make the Seimas transparent, too.
„Are we going to have to keep getting Tapina's permission to use parliamentary funds?“ – were the moans.
Indeed, some members of the Seimas have already rushed to return the money spent in this way – even the conservative Minister of Energy, Kreivys, returned 19 thousand euros.
Matijošaitis has even suspended his membership of the Freedom Party and will not stand for election to the European Parliament after his spending on computers became public.
He justified that he needed the costly hardware to work in the Seimas but promised not to take it if he was not re-elected.
In such cases, law enforcement is unlikely to be able to intervene, but, as they say, what is legal is only sometimes correct. Voters are still right.
The conservative chairman of the Seimas Committee on Social Affairs and Labour, Džiugelis, was in an even more awkward situation when it was revealed that 26,000 euros intended for parliamentary activities had gone to his campaign consultant, now a registered lobbyist for the gambling business, Ardišauskas.
Of course, Džiugelis tries to deny the allegations, explaining that he had legitimately hired the professional who prepared his reports. Still, earlier suspicions have been revived that, for some reason, this parliamentarian is particularly concerned about the gambling business. When the opposition demanded that Džiugelis resign, the Conservatives decided he would not lead the Seimas committee.
However, what conclusions will be drawn after these political upheavals? The cheque scandal has pushed the Seimas to change the procedure for the allowances for the activities of municipal councillors. This will protect them from similar scandals in the future, and it will benefit them financially.
Now, the costs of members' activities have been added to the funds allocated for meetings of municipal councils. While in some municipalities, it was modest, such as in Kaišiadorys, it was just €50 per month; now, councillors are paid much more – over €1,100.
Similarly, there is a trend towards changes in parliamentary allowances. These are provided for in the Constitution, but there is also talk of changing the constitutional norms, even though two-thirds of all members of the Seimas would have to vote twice.
If parliamentary expenses are not controlled and attached to salaries, many MEPs will save and spend almost nothing because they will keep all the money as their own.
Others will splurge to promote themselves and get re-elected. This can be seen in the European Parliament, where huge allowances are made for parliamentary activities, and there is almost no control.
Moreover, parliamentary expenses, combined with salaries, will also contribute to the increase in the pensions of Members of Parliament, increasing the cost to the state.
But it seems that both the wolf will be fed and sheep will remain healthy because the Members of the Seimas will be able to use the money for parliamentary activities at their discretion. And Let's Make It Transparent campaigns will seize to exist.
