On The Buses

A hardly-credible story from the BBC caught my attention today, when they reported that the city of Palermo, Sicily had employed over 100 bus drivers who didn't actually hold driving licences.

This catastrophe came to light only when a local councillor (described by the BBC as 'tenacious' and 'left-wing') demanded a probe into the pervasive practice of nepotism there. Jobs had been doled out to family members in an attempt (it is suggested) to buy votes in the forthcoming mayoral elections in the city.

Il mio uomo anziano è un dustman, as they might say in Rome.