The Rich President Of The Poor Country

PanARMENIAN.Net - Formally, the rise of the president's salary was caused by the rise of the minimal salary in the country. According to the law, the president has to be paid for his job with a sum which is 600 times more than the minimal salary in the country. For today, this is an unsurpassed record. There is no country in the world where the president thinks that he has the right to receive 600 times more than a pensioner. Maybe it's because of the voracious appetite of Azerbaijan rulers that more than 40 percents of Azerbaijan population live in deep poverty.

Coming to power in autumn, 2003 Aliev junior made a populist gesture, demanding from the parliament to decrease his salary as if to promote social justice. The parliament of Azerbaijan obeyed the request of Aliev and decreased the presidential salary to 5,500 US dollars. However, after half a year Aliev started increasing his salary. In the course of two years of Aliev junior's governance the presidential salary was increased from 27 million to 90 million mantas, that is by more than three times. Is it much or not? Perhaps it will be easier to understand comparing with the salaries of other presidents. According to Baku published "Novoye Vremya" newspaper, the current salary of Ilham Aliev is equal to the salary of the US president before 2001 when it was doubled by the decision of the Congress. USA is an extremely rich country, but in Azerbaijan one third of the population lives in poverty.

Excluding monarchs, George Bush is today the highest-paid leader in the world. Last year his income was estimated 785 thousand dollars, 400 thousand of which was his salary. But it should be noted that George Bush pays a tax of 80 thousand and makes other donations to the church and charity organizations. So, if we compare the financial abilities of George Bush and Ilham Aliev, the latter will hardly stay back because in contrast to the US president who accurately declares his incomes from dividends, Aliev junior does not declare his shares from oil contracts. Baku journalists claim that Aliev's clan takes every fifth dollar from oil export incomes.

Taking into account the mentioned facts, the rise of the salary looks simply provoking. Aliev has appointed a salary which is four times more than the salary of Vladimir Putin and three times more than the salary of Jack Shirak. The president of China Hu Jintao will perhaps feel uneasy if he learns that his salary is 8 times less than the salary of Aliev. The president of Check Republic must be proud to have shaken hands with Ilham Aliev, because his salary is only 1500 US dollars. The salaries of Ilham Aliev's GUAM partners are also much less than their Azeri colleague. Victor Yushenko receives 4700 US dollars and Michael Sahakashvili - 2180 US dollars. Byelorussian president Alexander Lukashenko, who earns only 300 dollars per month, can be sure that that the price of his birthday gift from Ilham Aliev can be more than the whole salary fund of the Byelorussian president's administration.

Latvian president may also envy the salary of Ilham Aliev. Vaira Vike-Freiberga had to keep her Canadian citizenship not to lose her pension. In her interview to а Latvian radio station she confessed that if she had to live only on her salary, she would appear in the same dress almost all the time. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has also decided to save the funds of Georgian state budget. Thanks to her French citizenship she receives a special payment from the Elisey palace and her salary is higher than that of Michael Saakashvili.

As compared with Ilham Aliev, Robert Kocharyan looks more than modest. His salary is only 400 thousand drams which is equal to approximately 890 US dollars. Ilham Aliev has not still increased the military budget of Azerbaijan, making it equal to the whole budget of Armenia, as promised. However already today he puts 20 times higher taxes than his Armenian colleague. By the way, Azeri journalists claim that the President of Armenia earns only 380 dollars and is the least-paid president in Eurasia. The journalists of course say what is wished instead of what exists, but as it is said, money is not the thing that makes people happy. Anyway, it should be added that there is hardly a president who does not know ways to live without salary...