Steven N.Ministerial pay significantly increased in the new Orbán government, according to documents on the government’s website. As of May 25, ministers in the current Cabinet earn a monthly salary of 2.6 million Ft. (US $6,500), up from 1.9 million Ft. ($4,800) in the previous government, reports rtl.hu.
In his Friday morning radio interview, Viktor Orbán said that “we are not the same” and that “everyone keeps a family budget, and they will see what fits into it and what doesn’t.” A few weeks ago, he also spoke about the fact that now was not the time to be talking about raising wages.
Orbán said this shortly after Parliament not only voted to increase his own salary, but after he was given the authority to personally set the salaries of his ministers. It appears that he took advantage of this opportunity, although Gergely Gulyás said at last week’s Government Information briefing that only Ministers Márton Nagy and János Csák would receive higher pay than usual.
The pay raise represents an increase of 33%, which far exceeds the annual inflation rate as well as the increase in the average salary. Cabinet members who also work as Members of Parliament also receive an additional 1,316,400 Ft. ($3,300) per month, so their monthly gross salary is around 4 million Ft. ($10,000). [444]
