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MPs automatically collect: Who will stop the increase in diets?
Members of parliament in Saxony-Anhalt will automatically receive increased diets from July 2023. Critics see this as unfair.
MPs automatically collect: Who will stop the increase in diets?
On July 4, 2025, the automatic diet increase will cause excitement in the Bundestag. MPs currently receive monthly compensation of 11,227.20 euros, plus a tax-free flat rate of 5,349.58 euros for mandate-related expenses. This regulation allows MPs to increase their salaries without further discussion or approval. The Bundestag has decided that the diets will continue to be automatically adjusted annually, in keeping with the Federal Constitutional Court's diet ruling of 1975, which requires that the compensation must correspond to the importance of the office tagesschau.de reported.
What is particularly explosive is the fact that this automatic increase in diets, which has been introduced since 2014, contrasts with the negotiations that many employees in Germany have to conduct in order to even get a salary increase. The Taxpayers' Association sees this as extremely unfair and warns that the associated higher expenses for MPs could lead to less funding for important public projects such as road construction and education MDR.
The details of the diet increase
On June 5, 2025, MPs voted on the automatic diet increase, which should amount to over 600 euros on July 1. A comparison based on average monthly salaries (4,634 euros in April 2024) shows that the diets are very popular and are difficult to compare with the earnings of a normal earner n-tv.de explained. The amount of the allowances is based on the salaries of judges on the highest federal courts.
In addition, the Bundestag also offers reimbursements for office expenses in Berlin of up to 12,000 euros annually. MPs can also look forward to free train journeys and refunds for domestic flights. These additional benefits clearly differ from the conditions under which most employees in Germany have to work.
Criticism and approval
The decision to automatically increase diets was mainly supported by the SPD and the Union, while the AfD and the Left voted vehemently against it. Critics argue that a suspension of these automatic adjustments would be necessary. The Left has announced that it will donate part of its diet to make a statement. Figures that are difficult for many taxpayers to accept as they face potential savings measures.
In summary, the ongoing adjustments to the diets shed light on the differences between politicians' salaries and the hurdles that ordinary citizens have to overcome in order to receive a salary increase. The debate surrounding diets remains a hot topic that extends far beyond the Bundestag.