The day before he resigned as Speaker of Parliament after winning the presidential election in July, Bronislaw Komorowski approved himself a 22,000 zloty (5,500 euros) bonus.

The ruling, which also endorsed sizeable payouts to the small cluster of vice speakers, was given the green light by the speakers themselves.

Details of the payouts were revealed this morning in the tabloid Super Express and were swiftly taken up in other media outlets.

The matter has gained coverage as the bonuses came at a time when the government was already touting the necessity to make cut-backs in the wake of the global financial crisis.

However, Vice Speaker Stefan Niesolowski, the recipient of a 50,000 zloty bonus, contends that the money was hard-earned.

“We were rewarded for hard work,” he said, stressing that in the wake of the Smolensk tragedy last April, the marshals worked especially hard.

Super Express claims that the speakers were given such bonuses on three separate occasions in 2010 (July, October and December). (nh)