MPs cash in on expense accounts

Publicly financed expense accounts for MPs are under the microscope as spending scandals have rocked successive European countries in recent weeks. While not on par in terms of public anger, the story is much the same in the Czech Republic, where growing signs of abuse raise questions about the way deputies are paid.

In July, former Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka admitted he had stashed away money earmarked for travel and other on-the-job costs to save for a new apartment. He purchased a 7 million Kč ($386,740) apartment and, after initially claiming to have saved 5 million Kč of the money himself, he backtracked, conceding he had used expense money for the luxury Prague property.

"There is no strict rule for the use of this money. I have not violated the law," Sobotka said.

Deputies have a monthly base salary of 57,000 Kč, plus perks like free travel on public transport, and expense accounts for staff, travel, clothing and housing. They receive 25,000 Kč monthly to cover travel expenses, and an additional 5,200 Kč monthly to furnish their offices.

The weekly Týden recently asked one deputy how he utilized his monthly office furnishing budget.

"I've always thought we receive money for furnishing offices at the beginning of the election season and that's it. On a monthly basis? I'm stunned," answered Jiří Dolejš, a deputy for the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) since 2002 and a member of the budget committee.

On July 27, an interview with Democratic Green Party (DSZ) Deputy Olga Zubová in Hospodářské noviny made waves when it said she travels by train to and from work and therefore doesn't utilize her 25,000 Kč monthly travel allowance. Zubová says the interview intentionally omitted parts of her story, but remains unapologetic.

"That I take the train to work doesn't mean I don't use the transportation fee that each deputy gets," she told The Prague Post. "A deputy's work doesn't just take them to Prague but throughout their region. Municipal politicians invite us to meetings. We meet with people almost daily."

Asked if she thought she should give back unspent money, she said, "I am not breaking any rules. It isn't even possible to give the money back."

The 2008 average monthly salary for Czechs was 22,691 Kč before taxes, according to the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, well below the monthly transportation allocation for deputies. The national minimum wage is 48.10 Kč per hour or 8,000 Kč per month, one-fourth of a deputy's monthly transportation allowance.

"The excuse has always been that everybody is doing it," said David Ondráčka head of the Transparency International Czech Republic.

In the United Kingdom, The Daily Telegraph newspaper sparked a public outcry when it began publishing leaked MP expense reports in May.

One MP, Douglas Hogg, allegedly filed an expense claim for cleaning the moat of his country home, and others for piano tuning and lighting in his horse stables.

 In Germany, Health Minister Ulla Schmidt is under scrutiny after ordering her official driver to drive more than 2,400 kilometers to meet her in Alicante, Spain. The 90,000 euro Mercedes S-Class was subsequently stolen.

Eight deputies in Belgium were pressured to return 80,000 euros spent on a trip to the southwest United States in April. Some had brought their spouses.

This trend, and the fact that most MPs are within the law when filing such expense claims, points to a systemic problem, Ondráčka said, and, though there have been attempts at reform in the past, they consistently fall by the wayside.

 "Here, unlike in the United Kingdom, there have been no consequences for MPs at all," he said.  

Austria, in contrast with many countries, requires MPs to submit expense reports to get reimbursement for office materials and staff.

"It would probably be best if a deputy got a higher [wage] and would pay for everything they need for their work, according to their own judgment," Zubová says.  

- Sarah Borufka contributed to this report.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com