DHis share of the German representative BundestagNever before has the number of people registered for a paid part-time job with the Bundestag administration as large as at the end of the current election period. At the same time, the amount of additional revenue reported has soared in recent years.This is the most recent result Research by the Otto Brenner FoundationSince 2009, the IG Metall Science Foundation has been continuously investigating the secondary activities of the Bundestag members; the research submitted now is the third evaluation at the end of the legislative period.
Therefore, out of the 740 men and women in the 19th legislative period of the German Bundestag, 261 were engaged in secondary jobs, or 35.3%. The ratio was 29.5% four years ago and 33.2% eight years ago. All in all, it stated in its research that “approximately one-third of the members of Congress are fairly stable” indicating that in addition to charging tasks, they are still very active. Therefore, secondary employment and additional income are “the problem of a few privileged members.”
In this minority group, there are from the alliance and Liberal Democratic Party According to this research, the number is obviously higher. Almost two-thirds of MPs who reported extra income belonged to these two parliamentary groups. In this study, the proportion of MPs who earn extra income is called “top-up” in the CDU and CSU parliamentary groups, 43%, and 62% in the Liberal Party. The Green Party (21%), the Social Democratic Party (22), the Left Party (26) and AfD (32) have significantly lower values. Regarding the FDP, the study stated that they “only accounted for 11.5% of all parliamentarians, but accounted for 20.3% of the supplements, still maintaining a leading position.”
Revenue increased from 30 euros to 53 million euros
although extra incomeAccording to calculations by the Otto Brenner Foundation, eight years ago, the total amount of members of the Bundestag during an election period was just over 30 million euros, and now it has risen to 53 million euros. Three-quarters of revenue comes from Union (59%) and FDP (17%). The CDU and CSU are the largest parliamentary groups, leading not only in total income, but also in the income of each member: each member of the parliamentary group of the alliance will receive an average of 121,000 euros, followed by FDP (107.00 euros) ), AfD (50,000) and SPD (41,000). Far behind are the Left and the Green Party, where the average income of one member of the parliament is 14,500 euros and 3,800 euros, respectively.
In the repeated debates about the extra income of members of the European Parliament, it is sometimes considered that this is not a problem in itself. One argument is that members of Congress whose careers and income exceed their political activities can perform their duties more freely than those whose careers are related to staying in the political sphere. Sven Osterberg, author of the Otto Brenner Foundation study, has a different view. Ostberg wrote: “It can be assumed that every report on secondary activities provides a consideration-that is, time is at the expense of mission.” Each “from the Aufstocker faction” All members of Congress should be aware that the allowance of a member of Congress is a complete diet.
Every Tuesday
The political background of the research made it particularly explosive this year. In the past few months, the additional income from the registration of Prime Minister Annalena Baerbock’s green candidates has caused the same excitement as MPs who got rich through mask deals or the support of authoritarian rulers. Due to the mask incident, the Bundestag tightened its transparency rules in the spring. Additional income in excess of 1,000 euros per month will no longer need to be designated in stages, but will be designated as the closest euros and cents.
How much external work is allowed?
For the Otto Brenner Foundation, the new rules “point in the right direction”, but: “Further steps must be taken to control the regulations more strictly.” It seems that paid lobbying activities are the lecture fees that will be banned by some members in the future and are directly related to the task, but the question still remains: “What are the expected and permitted sideline activities? Which secondary activities are the lobbyists’ portal? In the case of the focus of activities, how many activities are allowed?”
The work of the Otto Brunner Foundation must have changed with the new rules, which is why the current research is also designed as a resume for the past three election terms. Because, as the institute said: “In the future, new rules will be applied and there will be no need to estimate the income outside the parliament.”
