Bundestag Members' Allowance Automatically Boosted – Yet Again
Persisting Parliamentary Dietetics Automation - German Legislative Body Approves Decisions
Let's get real, shall we? Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, is known for its hefty paychecks, colloquially referred to as the "allowance" or "diet." Proposals to pump up this allowance don't sit well with the public.
A few years back, an automatic adjustment mechanism akin to pensions was introduced. This mechanism, however, must be in play after every federal election for the new legislative period. This mechanism, unsurprisingly, has also attracted criticism. With a majority of CDU/CSU, SPD, and the Green Party, the Bundestag voted to extend this mechanism last Thursday evening.
So, just how much green does a Bundestag member rake in?
In simple terms, they take home around 11,227.20 euros a month, which is taxable. In addition to this, they receive a tax-free monthly allowance of 5,349.58 euros for expenses related to their mandate, like renting a constituency office, materials, taxi rides, hotel costs, or accommodation in Berlin.
On top of that, the Bundestag reimburses expenses for the Berlin office (including employee materials or phones) up to a maximum of 12,000 euros a year. Members travel for free by train and get their domestic flight expenses back if they're work-related.
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From an ordinary earner's perspective, this is a substantial chunk of cash – but what's the explanation?
The Basic Law states that members have a right to an appropriate allowance that guarantees their independence. The specifics are governed by the Members Act. The allowances are pegged to the remuneration of judges at the highest federal courts. According to the so-called "allowance judgment" of the Federal Constitutional Court in 1975, the allowance should be "appropriate to the importance of the office, considering the responsibility and burden involved and the rank of the office in the constitutional order."
This topic has always been touchy: if the allowances are too low, there's fear they might be more susceptible to bribery, and if they're too high, there's pushback.
The Bundestag decides its own allowances. Why, you ask?
This goes way back to the "allowance judgment" of the Constitutional Court. In a nutshell, the court required members to make the call themselves and in public, as stated on Bundestag.de. The court ruled at the time: "In a parliamentary democracy, it cannot be avoided that the parliament decides in its own affairs when it comes to determining the amount and the further design of the financial regulations associated with the status of a member."
The Automatic Annual Boost: A Closer Look
This was decided in 2014 by the then grand coalition on the recommendation of an expert commission. The chairman of this commission, the former Federal Minister of Justice Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig (FDP), hinted at the heated public debates that would ensue when allowance increases were due: "Then politicians were accused of being 'greedy' and of 'self-service' by their fellow parliamentarians." There had been a political desire for some time to automate these adjustments.
The increase is tied to average wages in the country – if average wages rise by a certain percentage this year, parliamentary allowances will increase correspondingly the next year. However, each new Bundestag must vote on whether to keep this procedure for the legislative period. This has happened again. According to the Left Party, this mechanism will lead to an increase of around 600 euros in parliamentary allowances from July 1.
The Raging Debate: Weighing in on Both Sides
The SPD and Union defend the automatism. This is a logical, fact-based approach to a highly political and often emotional issue, according to the Union’s parliamentary group leader, Jens Spahn (CDU). In tight times, when citizens see less in wages and salaries, this has also resulted in corresponding cuts. In 2021, parliamentary allowances actually decreased slightly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Criticism comes from the AfD and the Left, both of which call for a suspension of the automatic adjustment. The Left party’s co-chair, Jan van Aken, said in the Bundestag that no citizen understands why parliamentary allowances are raised before the parliament even starts its actual work. The AfD’s parliamentary group leader, Stephan Brandner, argued against automation and advocated for an increase to be debated and decided on transparently in the plenary each year.
The Bundestag, Parliamentary Allowances, Berlin, CDU, SPD, Members of the Bundestag, CSU, Bundestag Election
- Despite the public's reservations, the Bundestag, led by the majority of CDU/CSU, SPD, and the Green Party, chose to prolong the automatic adjustment mechanism for parliamentary allowances, as criticized by some, on Thursday evening.
- The 'policy-and-legislation' of the Bundestag deciding its own allowances is a contentious point, rooted in the 'politics' of Germany, as mandated by the Federal Constitutional Court's ruling in 1975, which requires members to publically determine their own allowances in a parliamentary democracy.
