Irene Montero sparks yet another uproar in the European Parliament

Irene Montero has done it again: a €10,927 salary and a crying spell that goes around the world

Irene Montero has done it again. Spain's former Equality Minister, now a Podemos MEP, has starred in another moment of tears and performance in the Strasbourg chamber that has spread like wildfire on social media. But beyond the spectacle, the underlying debate points to her high pay — more than €10,900 gross per month — and to the increasingly widespread perception that her work in Brussels is more theatrical than effective.

The salary that stings: €10,927.44 a month

According to available data, Irene Montero receives a gross salary of €10,927.44 as a member of the European Parliament. A figure that clashes head-on with her past as a "cashier", a label she herself has used to build her narrative of social ascent. The contrast between her humble origins and her current salary privilege is one of the axes of the criticism: many believe that this money, paid with public funds, should translate into tangible results, not tears and empty gestures.

The viral video: performance or genuine outpouring?

The moment captured by the cameras shows Montero with her mouth open, a vacant look and, according to some witnesses, sobbing while other MEPs ignored her. Interpretations diverge: some see it as a visceral reaction to the lack of attention she suffers in the European Parliament — where "they treat her like a ficus plant", it is said — while others consider it a calculated staging to keep making headlines. The video, which also includes a brief song, has been compared to parodies and has generated memes galore.

Her reception in the chamber: loneliness and contempt

Several voices point out that Montero is not well received among her European colleagues. It is said that "they don't listen to her, they ignore her as if she were a piece of furniture", and that even her own group views her with suspicion. This isolation, added to the constant internal criticism in Spain over her past at the Ministry of Equality — the Monedero cases, the handling of the 'Only Yes Means Yes' law — paints a picture of decline for the former minister.

With this new episode, Montero once again dominates the headlines. But the question remains: how much of this is political strategy and how much pure media survival? Time, and perhaps the next elections, will tell.