Here’s how much Italy’s top politicians earned last year

Who is the richest member of the Italian cabinet? And which politician earned five times less than they did last year? Now we know.

Published: 6 March 2017 10:25 CET

Here's how much Italy's top politicians earned last year

The newly appointed Italian government ministers pictured in December. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

Italian politicians have published their tax returns for the 2015/2016 tax year, revealing exactly how much they earned.

The figures are available on the official website of the Italian parliament, so you can check out the earnings of the country's MPs and senators in full, but here's a quick rundown of who earned what – and there are a few surprises.

Premier Gentiloni earned €109,607 in the last tax year, taking home slightly more than his predecessor Matteo Renzi, who declared earnings of €103,283. Renzi himself saw a €5,000 dip in earnings compared to the previous year.

But that figure made Gentiloni only the fifth highest earner in government – so who brought in the most money last year?

Valeria Fedeli, Minister for Education, takes that title, having earned a total of €180,291.

The next highest earner was Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, who declared taxable income of €148,692.

And in third place was Anna Finocchiaro, the minister of relations with parliament, with a taxable income of €144,853.

At the other end of the scale, Maurizio Martina emerged as the lowest earner in government. The agricultural minister declared taxable income of only €46,750.

And in penultimate place was Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, who declared €49,958.

After Gentiloni, the next highest earners in government were Transport Minister Graziano Delrio (€104,473), Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti (€104,432), Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano (€102,300), and Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda (€102,058).

Declaring earnings of below €100,000 were Public Administration Minister Marianna Madia and Justice Minister (€98,816), Sports Minister Luca Lotti (€98,471), Regional Cohesion Minister Claudio de Vincenti (€97,728), and Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti (€97,631).

They were followed by Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin (€97,576), Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti (€96.663), Secretary of the Council of Ministers (€96,571), and Interior Minister Marco Minniti (€92,237).

As for the PD's rival parties, Five Star Movement leader Beppe Grillo earned €71,957, a significant decrease on the €355,247 he declared the year before. One of the main reasons for the massive drop is that in 2015 the anti-establishment leader sold a property.

NOW READ: Italian MPs earn €122 for each hour spent in parliament

Italian MPs earn €122 for each hour spent in parliament

Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

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The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” — adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The “Report” programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.