In a wide-ranging address to parliamentarians, he set out his vision of the next five years, saying that key issues included "the family, security, work, investment and dignity.”
He added: “It is these five Polish issues that symbolize Poland, which is capable of combining tradition with modernity, because these two principles are not mutually exclusive, but complement each other."
Duda, a conservative, told lawmakers: "Polish matters are the most important for me, that is those that concern us all, the entire nation. As I promised, I will be a president of Polish affairs.”
Duda also said it was vital to do “everything possible” to tackle unemployment.
“For many years, high unemployment was a real curse in Poland. That’s what killed the dreams of millions of Poles and forced them to emigrate for financial reasons,” he told lawmakers.
“Today, in the face of the crisis evoked by the pandemic, we have to do everything possible to ensure that situation doesn’t happen again.”
Poland’s conservative government, of which Duda is an ally, has introduced a massive relief and stimulus package to shield the economy from the coronavirus.
Thursday’s swearing-in ceremonies were conducted with sanitary measures in place after a spike in coronavirus cases.
Poland on Thursday reported a record daily rise in COVID-19 infections, confirming 726 new cases, the most since the pandemic hit the country in early March.
Duda garnered 51.03 percent of the vote in Poland’s run-off presidential election last month, while opposition-backed challenger Rafał Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, won 48.97 percent.
A special chamber within Poland’s Supreme Court on Monday announced that the result the election was valid, despite over 5,000 legal challenges to the ballot.
(pk)
Source: PAP/IAR