Almost 18,000 zlotys of gross salary for the spouse of the incumbent president is provided for in the Law and Justice project to increase the salaries of parliamentarians and top state officials. PiS wanted to regulate this issue for four years now.
–
On Thursday evening, deputies from the Sejm’s regulatory, parliamentary and immunity committee unanimously adopted the bill, which includes increasing salaries for parliamentarians. A first lady or first gentleman would also receive a salary if the president was a woman.
–
It is about a draft amendment to the Act of July 31, 1981 on the remuneration of persons holding state managerial positions. The head of the committee, PiS MP Kazimierz Smoliński, said that the draft had been consulted and agreed between parliamentary clubs.
–
In the committee, 12 MPs voted in favor of the bill, no one abstained and no one voted against.
–
–
President’s wife’s salary
The draft provides that the Polish president would be entitled to a remuneration of 1.3 times the remuneration of a Supreme Court judge specified in the basic rate. The records say that there will also be remuneration for the president’s spouse. This is new because neither the current first lady nor the wives of previous presidents were paid. The draft explains that the salary should correspond to 0.9 times the basic salary of a Supreme Court judge specified in the basic rate.
–
Currently, a Supreme Court judge earns at least PLN 19,986 gross. It follows that the spouse of the president will earn less than PLN 18,000 gross, i.e. slightly more than 2/3 of the president’s salary, who would earn less than PLN 26,000 gross under the bill.
–
Presidential Minister Andrzej Dera spoke about the salary of the first lady on TVN24.
–
There are no political powers attached to the role of first lady. The current first lady – Agata Kornhauser-Duda – is involved in cultural and charity activities on a daily basis. The “First Lady Activity” subpage on the President’s official website has 263 pages. It stated that during the five years of activity, i.e. during the first term of Andrzej Duda, the First Lady took part in 1,449 activities and met with over 50,000 people. She participated in 258 separate visits and 268 together with the president.
–
During the previous term of office, Kornhauser-Duda was criticized for not speaking on important political and social issues.
–
Discontinued project
The salary for the first lady was already loud in 2016. In July, a bill on ministers’ salaries was submitted to the Sejm, which would also regulate the issue of the wife of the incumbent president.
–
According to the proposal at that time, the president’s spouse was to receive a maximum of PLN 13,540 per month. PLN 12,275 was to be the salary, and PLN 1,265 was the maximum amount of the internship allowance. The amendment also provided for the awarding of salaries to former first ladies and an increase in the salaries of former presidents. It was to be PLN 10,155 and PLN 18,465, respectively.
–
According to the proposal, the act was to enter into force on September 1, 2016. It did, because Law and Justice withdrew from this idea a few days after submitting the project.
–
WATCH TVN24 ON THE INTERNET ON TVN24 GO
–
photo-source">Main photo source: Radek Pietruszka / PAP
—
