Scandal for increasing diet: Member of the Bundestag collect more!

Scandal for increasing diet: Member of the Bundestag collect more!

Berlin, Deutschland - The German Bundestag is planning a diet increase for its MPs, which would result in an increase of 5.4 percent to a total of 11,833 euros. This was presented in an application by the Union and SPD on Thursday, as [RP-Online] reported. The new fee is based on the salary of federal judges and follows an automated adaptation process that has existed for several years. This procedure is intended to avoid debates about the self -service of MPs and orient themselves towards wage development in the country.

However, the automatic adjustment is under violent criticism. Representatives of the left, including the co-faction leader Heidi Reichinnek, expressed that it was not acceptable that MPs increase their diets, while the minimum wage of 15 euros remains a controversial topic. The left also plans to have a discussion about the use of the diet increase, whereby options could include support from local initiatives or the formation of a faction association. The AfD also speaks against the increase and calls for the suspension of the adaptation mechanism.

criticism of the adaptation mechanism

The Union Sparlamental Managing Director Steffen Bilger defends the existing mechanism and emphasizes that he can also lead to a decline in diets, as in 2021 during Corona pandemic, when it dropped by 0.7 percent. The SPD parliamentary manager Dirk Wiese supports the mechanism and criticizes the left as hypocritical, since the cutting options in the discourse do not put sufficient focus on discourse.

The increase in diet of 606 euros would be the largest in almost 30 years, as left-wing party leader Janine Wissler states. It calls for an exposure to the increase in the face of financial bottlenecks in the state budget and the ongoing discussions about cuts in the citizens' allowance. From July 2024, the remuneration of MPs in the German Bundestag will increase by six percent, which raises monthly salaries to 11,227.20 euros.

The historical context of the diets

The regulations on MPs' compensation have grown historically, starting in 1906, when they were introduced for the first time to enable political participation of broad sections of the population. The term for the diets comes from the Latin "Dies" and describes the daily wages for MPs. According to Wikipedia, the compensation has been anchored in the Basic Law since 1949, at that time they were DM 600, in addition there was daily allowance and travel expenses.

In international comparison, the diets in the Bundestag are currently lagging behind the general income development, as the discussion in parliament on this topic shows. In other countries, the regulations on MPs are different. For example, MPs in Austria receive a basic salary of 9,375 euros per month, while members of the National Council in Switzerland earn an average of CHF 76,138

The topics related to MPs and their adjustments remain controversial and play an important role in public discourse on transparency and justice in politics.