ROME — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has scaled back a controversial proposal to grant significant salary increases to ministers without parliamentary seats, following three days of public backlash.
The proposal, introduced during ongoing budget talks, aimed to raise the monthly salaries of technocratically appointed ministers by approximately €7,000, bringing them in line with ministers who also receive salaries as MPs.
The proposed pay increase would have affected around eight ministers, including Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli.
The proposed salary increase — modest in the broader context — faced swift condemnation from opposition lawmakers, who criticized the contrast between the pay hike and the limited budget allocations for health care and pensions. The government’s budget remains constrained due to significant tax cuts and pressure from the European Union to reduce the national deficit.
Members of the left-populist 5Star Movement denounced the proposal as a “shameful law.” Elly Schlein, leader of the center-left Democratic Party, remarked: “While with one hand they increase the salaries of ministers, with the other they block the minimum wage. Let it not be said that this government doesn’t know how to choose priorities.”
The origin of the bill remained unclear, even within government circles. Pressed by reporters at a party political festival over the weekend, Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli responded with an uncomfortable two-minute silence.
Amid the growing backlash, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who also stood to benefit from the proposed pay raise, urged officials involved in last-minute budget negotiations to withdraw the proposal, stating that it was necessary to “avoid unnecessary controversy.”
In response, a scaled-down amendment was introduced, limiting benefits to travel reimbursements for ministers, funded by a dedicated €500,000 budget for 2025.
Elected ministers in Italy receive a monthly net income of approximately €5,000, along with €3,500 for accommodation expenses and €3,690 for staff salaries. The proposed law would have extended these benefits to unelected ministers, adding an extra €1,200 annually for phone bills.
In stark contrast, the anticipated increase to pensions in Italy is projected to be just €1.80 per month.
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