Aruban Member of Parliament (MP) Rene Herdé questions a recent proposal by Ronald van Raak (SP) of the Dutch Second Chamber to reduce and equalise the salaries for all elected representatives in
the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The AVP-fraction leader told the Amigoe newspaper this would not result in better politicians.
In his opinion the risk of taking bribes is even greater if legislators earn less. According to him, corruption cases around the globe usually have little to do with the direct income of those involved, but rather with other interests.
Herdé has a point. It is already hard enough to find adequate candidates willing to serve their nation in the uncertain world of politics and offering them a lower pay is not going to help.
One also should keep in mind that a few of government’s highest-ranking officials and consultants may currently make more than their “bosses” in the Council of Ministers and Parliament. This is sometimes necessary to acquire the necessary expertise and professionals also in light of competition from the private sector, but the discrepancy should not become too great either.
The reality is that most people actually don’t care so much about what MPs earn, as long as they do the job in a truly full-time capacity as they’re supposed to. It must be said, the meeting attendance records since St. Maarten gained country status on 10-10-10 haven’t been exactly impressive in that regard.
Instead of worrying so much about their salaries, the focus ought to be on the performance of parliamentarians. The result of that evaluation then can be indicated best during the next election, when citizens speak at the polls.
