Sort of. The UK's MPs, based at the Houses of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster, have been claiming on their expenses and allowances, most of which was hidden and covered under parliamentary priviledge - however the Freedom of Information Act which this govt. passed has been used to make it unsustainable for them to still be hidden. Then 2 months before they were due to be released in a redacted form the Telegraph (a big national paper) got hold of them unredacted and started publishing the details. For one whole month it was all anyone could talk about. Over 100 MP's are now expected to be investigated for fraud and several are expected to be found guilty.....
A Nuke under the mother of all parliaments would have had less effect than the shock that rippled through the UK; whether it has any lasting effect is another matter, but it seems that one third of MPs will not be standing for re-election.
A scandal like this would have no effect in italy...in italy more than 20 MPs had already been condemned for crimes (of course the didn't any days of jail). among the most important you can find
Marcello Dell'Utri, one of the most important lieutenants of Berlusconi was condemned for being part of Mafia,
Roberto Maroni, current Minister of Internal Affairs, was condemned for having beaten a policeman
Umberto Bossi, main political ally of Berlusconi, has been condemned for 100.000 € taken illegally
the most tragic is Mauro Borghezio, elected at EU-parliamente who has been condemned for having lit with fire some African immigrants...
I could fill pages and pages of italian scandals...
