Move over Nicola Sturgeon, there’s a new sheriff in town. The former SNP leader has faced criticism this week, after it emerged that her government splurged just under £10,000 on VIP airport services for her and her staff – despite foreign affairs being a reserved power.
When it comes to taking the mickey out of taxpayers though, it’s clear that the Germans really are doing it better. According to Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Tagesspiegel newspaper, German taxpayers have had to fork out €55,000 on former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hair and make-up since she left office in 2021. In this year alone, Merkel has already managed to rack up a €17,200 bill, and spent €37,000 in 2022 – reportedly on a self-employed hair and makeup artist who works as a fashion designer in Berlin. Whatever happened to the good old short back and sides?
Apparently the expenses cover both public and private events, with the German Chancellery telling Tagesspiegel that, ‘The assumption of costs is linked to the performance of continuing official duties — regardless of whether they are public or non-public’.
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