The three powers of the State have different functions, their own sphere of action, and also a complicated relationship, as evidenced by the continuous clashes between the political class and the judiciary. But their representatives have an element in common at this beginning of the year and that is that they will earn more than in 2022. Their salaries have been raised. The Government and various regional executives, the Cortes Generales, and the high courts, among other institutions, will not have to wait for the wage agreement between employers and unions that alleviates the effects of inflation like millions of workers. Their budget items include an increase in remuneration for all of them.
The Government has applied a 4% rise, the same as agreed for civil servants. This is reflected in the general state budget, which sets the salary of President Pedro Sánchez at 90,010.20 euros. The vice presidents Nadia Calviño, Yolanda Díaz and Teresa Ribera will receive 84,600.72 euros and the ministers, 79,415.16 euros. There is also a 4% increase for those responsible for government advisory bodies: the president of the Council of State, Magdalena Valerio, will win 90,383.28 euros and the president of the Economic and Social Council, Antón Costas, 98,741.40 euros. In twelve monthly payments, without extra payments.
A separate issue is whether these remunerations are appropriate for the position they hold. The President of the Government will earn only 15,000 euros more than his predecessors. Felipe González, José María Aznar, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy will receive an allocation of 74,500 euros, from the item of 298,320 euros, fixed since 2019, which the Government allocates to former presidents.
For another year, Sánchez and his ministers will earn less – and it is a significant difference – than their counterparts in France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium or Austria, to name a few neighboring countries. And the same happens with the salaries of parliamentarians. Whether or not politicians in Spain win the right amount is an open debate. What for some is a lot, for others is little, but the reality is that competent politicians are needed to take charge of the institutions. And more than the money they earn, what should be valued is whether they earn their salary. And that is valid both for those who are now in the Government and for those who carry out the essential work of the opposition.
The leaders of the main parties have a seat in the Cortes Generales. What will they charge in this 2023? Salaries in the legislative branch do not rise equally. Congress approved a 2% increase, while the Senate gave itself 3.5%. The president of the PP and leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will collect 14 payments of 3,096.42 euros as a senator, and another 14 (tax-free) of 1,987.39 euros, for being from a constituency other than Madrid, in his Galicia case, which amounts to 71,173.34 euros –less than what he earned as president of the Xunta–, which does not exclude that he receives a salary supplement from the PP.
All senators have the same allowance of 3,096.42 euros per month and fourteen payments, but the supplements vary. The president of the Senate, Ander Gil, adds more than 8,000 euros in supplements due to his position, is from a constituency other than Madrid (1,987.39 euros, which are not taxed), and chairs a legislative commission (1,575.02 euros), which adds up to 209,875.54 euros.
Congress handles somewhat different salary figures. The allowance for deputies is 3,050.62 euros per month, as stated in the Transparency section of the website, which is not updated with the 2% increase. Add-ons are added to that allocation. As in the Senate, the deputies have a monthly compensation that varies depending on whether they are elected by Madrid (935.37 euros) or by another constituency (1,959.62 euros). The spokespersons of the groups receive a monthly supplement of 2,896.98 euros per month, and the presidents of the commission, one of 1,551.58 euros. The president of the Chamber, Meritxell Batet, has a monthly supplement of 9,933.65 euros, is a deputy for Barcelona and chairs a commission, so her salary is above 230,000 euros, since the increase in the 2%.
With few exceptions, the salary of a public office in Spain is not enough to make money. There’s no comparison to what you can earn in the private sector, plus you have to endure a generally considerable level of scrutiny. And that is why some professionals, with full competence to be in the forefront of politics, decline to do so or give up when they begin to see what is behind it; without going any further, the pressures of the political party that has appointed them.
The salaries of the judiciary also rise. In the upper band of remuneration is the president of the Constitutional Court, Pedro González-Trevijano, with a salary of 167,169.10 euros. He is followed by the president of the General Council of the Judiciary, Rafael Mozo, who will win 151,186.20 euros. The State Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, will charge 132,235.68 euros. And the president of the Court of Accounts, Enriqueta Chicano, 130,771.62 euros.
