The deputy spokesman for the PSOE, Luis Peña, has criticised the increase in the number of government meeting which, he declares, costs around €70,000 per year.
Although the number of (cheaper) regular Council meetings has been reduced as part of austerity measures, the number of (more expensive) government meetings has increased, as many predicted when the austerity measures were originally announced.
According to Luis Peña, there were 40 such government meetings in 2008 but this rose to 59 in 2010, an increase of 43%.
The spokesman says that for five minutes at such a meeting, each councillor receives €168, representing an annual cost of €70,000.
It remains a mystery why, in so many countries, politicians not only get paid a very good salary but also get paid for just turning up or attending meetings or functions, many of which take place during normal working hours.
One also wonders whether the situation would be any different if the political roles were reversed. Unlikely.