By Dr Stelios Platis
I want first to congratulate our new representatives, who have received the mandate of the citizens. Election to Parliament is an honour, but above all it is a responsibility. And that responsibility is not measured only by presence in the chamber, nor by statements in the media. It is measured by results.
Much has been written and discussed about MPs’ remuneration, and rightly so. At a time when citizens are under pressure from high prices, rents, electricity, fuel, loan instalments and broader insecurity, a total annual package of around €99,612 raises questions. This is especially true when the average monthly wage in Cyprus is about €2,605 and the median is €1,968, or €23,616 a year. On that basis, an MP’s package is more than 4.2 times the salary of a typical worker.
This places Cyprus among the higher tiers compared with other EU member states. It is slightly below Greece, at around 4.7 times, and Bulgaria, at between 3.5 and 4.9 times, but higher even than Germany, where, even if the tax-free expenses allowance is added to parliamentary remuneration, covering only proven parliamentary expenses, the total comes to just under four times the median wage. In Austria, the comparison is around 2.7 to 2.9 times. France is more complex, with parliamentary remuneration at about 2.7 times the median net wage, plus an additional fund for carrying out the duties of office, subject to strict rules and scrutiny, but overall still below four times the median wage. In the United Kingdom, outside the EU but procedurally closer to Cyprus, an MP’s total package is about 3.1 times median annual full-time earnings.
Although this comparison is important in the context of full transparency and accountability, and although some adjustments may perhaps be necessary, the issue clearly should not end there. Democracy needs MPs who can work independently, without financial dependencies and pressures. It is reasonable for an MP to be paid decently. But decent pay must be accompanied by decent accountability.
The question, therefore, is not simply “how much do MPs receive”. The real question is: what kind of Parliament do we want?
Do we want a full-time Parliament, or part-time MPs with full privileges? Do we want remuneration without any measurable obligation of parliamentary attendance, or a system in which part of that remuneration is linked to actual participation, as happens in the European Parliament with the daily attendance allowance? Do we want rules on incompatibility and conflicts of interest that exist only on paper, or rules that are enforced? Do we want asset declarations that leave loopholes for first-degree relatives and “gifts”, or genuine transparency?
In my view, the new Parliament must immediately open four issues concerning the remuneration and transparency procedures of its members, issues that the previous Parliament failed to address. First, linking part of MPs’ remuneration to attendance, participation and substantive parliamentary work. Second, strict incompatibility rules and genuine management of conflicts of interest, especially in matters relating to land, major developments, foreign investment and financial interests. Third, a serious and meaningful asset declaration system, with checks on all family and connected interests. Fourth, strict disciplinary sanctions that are actually enforced, not merely kept for show.
But the discussion about remuneration must not distract us from the major social problems. Cyprus is not suffering because MPs are paid. It is suffering because the growth of recent years has not been translated into security for the wage earner, the young person, the family, the tenant or the small business. Citizens do not live on indicators. They live with rents, food, energy, childcare and the anxiety of whether they will make it to the end of the month.
That is why the discussion about MPs’ salaries must become a bridge to a bigger debate: who pays and who benefits from the current development model.
The new Parliament will be judged on pension reform, foreclosures, wealth redistribution, the cost-of-living allowance, housing, energy costs, the management of natural gas and the new productive model that is now required. It will be judged on whether it defends labour against profiteering, the middle class against the concentration of wealth, and transparency against entanglement.
Society is not asking for poor politicians. It is asking for serious politicians. It is not asking for revenge. It is asking for justice. It is not asking for theatre. It is asking for results.
Congratulations, then, to the new MPs. But the real assessment has already begun. Not of how much they receive, but of whether they are worthy of the trust, responsibility and cost that society assumes for them to represent us.
Dr Stelios Platis holds a PhD in Finance and Macroeconomics from the University of Cambridge.
