Carlo Cottarelli's parliamentary experience lasted only a few months. He was elected senator for the Democratic Party on September 25, 2022, and resigned the following May. He disagreed with the party's new line, which was led by Elly Schlein. During the brief period of time he spent in Palazzo Madama, the economist who was known to the Italian public as the special commissioner for spending review—appointed by Letta and subsequently removed by Renzi—was able to introduce a bill titled "Measures for the transparency of party electoral programs". It required parties to reveal not only the policies they meant to implement once in office, but also the cost and how they intended to finance them, detailing whether the funds would come from budget cutbacks, increased revenue, or additional debt. The idea did not prevent deficits: Cottarelli believed that greater expenditure or tax cuts could be financed by incurring more debt, but this needed to be openly declared. The objective, in short, was not to clip politics' wings, but to force it to confront reality and adopt honest accounting. With Cottarelli absent from Parliament, the bill would have been utterly forgotten if the Luigi Einaudi Foundation, along with Cottarelli himself, had not filed a petition this week to reintroduce the subject in Parliament. The campaign is entitled "How Much Will It Cost Me?" and is already collecting thousands of signatures. There are international precedents. Countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia and Canada have for years had independent offices responsible for assessing the sustainability of election programmes. Those who pass are rewarded with excellent reputation rather than votes, and the two can sometimes coincide.