As stated in the general government budget project, the coalition government represents the salary increase agreed with the CCOO and UGT in the Public Function Table, a 4% increase over those stated in the current Budgets. With this, President Pedro Sánchez’s annual salary will be 90,010.20 euros. Some reference data to evaluate this amount: Macron earns 110% more than Sánchez, while the average French salary is 56% higher than Spaniards. The Spanish president also earns slightly less than Portuguese prime minister António Costa (€91,000 this year), whose average salary is lower than Spain’s (20,602 gross, about €4,000 less per year). Similarly, the salary of the Spanish head of government is far from that of the Swiss heads of government (469,480 euros gross annually) or the United States (411,618).
Salaries of Spanish parliamentarians are also relatively low. A MP from outside Madrid earns around 70,143 euros (3.5 percent more in 2023), almost three times less than Italian MPs and almost half of German MPs. An internal report published by El Periódico de España of the European Parliamentary Research and Documentation Center, which compares the salaries of MPs from various EU member states in 2019, shows Spain as the fourth country from the bottom. It just pays the parliamentarians of Poland, Croatia and Latvia worse.
For the rest, there are numerous salaries in Spain that are higher than those of the Prime Minister. Among mayors (by law, the maximum amount cannot exceed that of a Foreign Minister), someone from Madrid earns 108,517 euros gross per year, slightly more than Paris (103,800) and 40,000 more than Lisbon (62,688). ). ). The salaries of CCAA presidents are very messy. The head of the Generalitat tops the list with around 133,000 euros, followed by the lehendakari (about 107,000) and the head of Madrid (103,000).
It is clear that the evaluation of these quantities is highly subjective, since the market does not interfere with the formation of prices. However, some rational criteria can be established. One is to distinguish professionalism from occasional activities, and also public officials from liberal professionals. A second criterion will relate salary to level of responsibility. It seems logical that the head of government should earn something more than the head of an autonomous community and have a higher salary than the mayor.
Another less obvious but more decisive criterion is quality. If we really want the “best” to get into politics, as Ortega wants and common sense dictates, we can’t be stingy with their paychecks. Politicians must have a solid spirit of service, but they do not have to be charitable or give up the prosperity that careful preparation can bring them. Today, many people in the private sector do not accept the ministry or foreign minister because they cannot maintain the family life they have agreed upon. Therefore, a comparison should be made between the public salary of a high temporary position and the wage of a position of similar content and responsibility in the private sector.
Another aspect of the issue that needs attention is that of the political profession and access to these public service areas. Today, political allegiance is discredited, and it is hard to find young people at the university who plan to try their luck in politics when they graduate, through parties that are constitutionally their main channel of representation. Insecurity has complex origins in the absence of corruption. But this is also due to unattractive salaries, because a deputy or minister earns less than recent graduates in certain companies and professions. It’s not about throwing the house out the window, it’s about understanding that it would be difficult for us to have a shiny policy with ordinary professionals.
Source: Informacion
Ben Stock is a business analyst and writer for “Social Bites”. He offers insightful articles on the latest business news and developments, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the business world.