At the request of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will look at the payments the king receives annually. The prime minister does this with fresh reluctance, “because people do not easily agree on the level of the salary,” said Rutte.
The subject was raised during the discussion of the budget of General Affairs, the ministry of the prime minister who is ministerially responsible to the king. Rutte promises that the House will be informed about the matter again before the end of the year.
The monarch’s income consists of two parts: an unofficial salary of about 1 million euros and an expense allowance that is used for personnel and material expenses. Currently, about 5 million euros is allocated annually for this, but Rutte wants to examine whether the amount is “appropriate”.
The House had previously passed a motion whereby the expense allowance would be checked every five years and adjusted if necessary. Rutte firmly rejected that option, however, because the issue would be much more complex. The Prime Minister also emphasized that the Plenary House had approved the current salary house in 2007.
“I think the stability of the king’s income is of great value”, Rutte continued. If there were to be a discussion about the king’s salary every year, a debate could quickly turn into populism, he argues.
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