Towards a Regional Political Class?: Professional Politicians and Regional Institutions in Catalonia and Scotland by Klaus Stolz

Author:Klaus Stolz [Stolz, Klaus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Political Process, General, Social Science, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781847797476
Google: VWW5DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 2013-07-19T17:21:02+00:00

Professionalising the regional mandate and the regional parliament (III): modest institutional reform (1999–2005)

It was not before 1999 – and thus nearly 20 years after the inauguration of the Catalan Parliament – that this original institutionalisation of MCPs’ economic and working regime had become the object of any reform initiative. In the sixth legislature (1999–2003), however, parliamentarians eventually made deliberate attempts to improve their economic situation and working conditions.

In this period, MCPs accomplished two important reforms with regard to their remuneration. The most important change was the introduction of complementary payments for the bearers of internal offices, replacing a system of uniform salaries. The new system consisted of seven salary bands plus four bands of travel allowances. The highest ‘complemento’ is, of course, paid to the Parliament’s president, followed by the vice-presidents and presidents of parliamentary groups, the Mesa secretaries and the group speakers, the deputy speakers, the committee presidents and finally the committee vice-presidents and committee secretaries. This new form of payment represented a marked differentiation of salary scales, as an ‘ordinary’ parliamentarian now earned just about two-thirds of the third category (mesa secretaries and group speakers) and less than half of the president’s salary. MCPs have thus erected an internal hierarchy of offices, establishing new prospects of career advancement within the legislature. However, as the number of additionally remunerated offices is very large, this also represents a considerable salary increase for the majority of parliamentarians.15 This new form of remuneration was of course additional to the usual annual rise of salaries and allowances. Despite the rather inaccurate information with regard to the exact sums paid, it does seem fair to state that between the beginning of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh legislature MCPs granted themselves the biggest ever pay rise. Since then, salaries have further risen and salary scales have become even more differentiated.16

At the end of the sixth legislature MCPs also agreed to prolong the payment of their salaries from the end of the parliamentary activities to the actual election day. This agreement was taken by the Mesa of the Parliament and later unanimously ratified in the committee of internal government. It means that MCPs are paid two more months per legislature. However, the net-effect for most MCPs will probably be small, as some parties seem to have compensated them for their lack of parliamentary income during the final weeks of the election campaign (El País, 14 July 2003). Thus, what looks like another pay rise for parliamentarians in effect amounts to a welcome relief for overstrained party coffers at election times.

A third attempt to reform the economic regime of MCPs was rejected in this legislature. In their aim to bring more transparency to the parliament, the MCPs of Ciutadans pel Canvi had asked the presiding board of the parliament to lift the veil of secrecy from the deliberations in the committee of internal governance regarding parliamentary salaries. They were rebuffed twice on formal grounds. Instead of suspending this concrete provision on an individual basis

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