President Pavel vetoes proposed salary hike for top politicians and judges

President Petr Pavel has vetoed a controversial amendment to the law that would increase the salaries of top politicians by almost seven percent this year, while the salaries of judges and state prosecutors would be stagnant, in view of increases in previous years.

The president said he disagreed with the way lawmakers dealt with the Constitutional Court's ruling on the salaries of constitutional officials, especially in relation to setting the salary base for judges this year. In a letter to the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marketa Pekarová Adamová he also criticized the retroactivity of the draft legislation. According to President Pavel, the proposed salary amendment is only a transitional solution and not a good one.

The hike was vehemently opposed by ANO and the Freedom and Direct Democracy Party who had proposed a five-year freeze on politicians’ salaries in view of implemented austerity measures, tax hikes and growing public discontent. The bill will determine the salaries of some 5,000 officials.

The amendment will now go back to the Chamber of Deputies, which is expected to override the president’s veto thanks to the majority of the ruling coalition.