Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, said its politicians will tour the country from Saturday in a bid to engage the public in forging new policies “to make Poland stronger and secure.”
Kaczyński announced the tour, called The Future is Poland, in a speech at his party's Warsaw headquarters on Friday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Prime Minister Mateusz Mateusz Morawiecki, senior Cabinet ministers, and other top ruling party politicians attended the event.
Kaczyński said: “Our policies have always been crafted after a long conversation with the Polish people.”
He added: “Ordinary Poles with their needs, as well as various fears and even frustrations, are the experts who provide us with real knowledge about the needs of our nation and society. It is their views and needs that must be our guide."
'New challenges’
Kaczyński said that after his party’s nearly eight years in power, “Poland is a better country," but "the needs and ambitions are also different."
He cautioned that “new problems have appeared," including an economic crisis, inflation, and the war in Ukraine, "the biggest of challenges.”
He said: “We must meet all these challenges, but after a thorough conversation, one that is not too short, but not too long, either.”
Kaczyński announced that "between now and the parliamentary elections" scheduled for the autumn, his party’s politicians, led by Morawiecki and including "all the MPs,” would tour the country to talk with voters at “thousands" of meetings.
‘Thousands of discussions’
“There will be thousands of discussions," he said. "We are beginning this road."
Kaczyński added that after meeting with the public, his party would "present policy conclusions based on an assessment of needs, on everything we’ve heard.”
He said his party would then "assess what else must be done to make Poland stronger, to make it secure and to ensure that we achieve things that seemed impossible to many people in Europe.”
“Poland is the future; the future is Poland,” Kaczyński concluded.
PM to kick off tour in southeastern Poland
Meanwhile, party spokesman Rafał Bochenek told reporters that the tour would kick off on Saturday with Morawiecki "meeting with the people of Jasło" in southeastern Poland to discuss "economic issues."
On Sunday, MEP and former prime minister Beata Szydło will discuss "social and health matters with the people of Sandomierz," also in the southeast, Bochenek said.
He added: “With each day, with each week, there will be more meetings. We’ll be discussing policy issues, because the Polish people are the best experts. They know best what they need most and what they lack most.”
Poland's ruling conservatives in 2019 won a convincing victory over opposition parties in the country's parliamentary elections, securing a second term in power.
The next general election is scheduled for this autumn. The exact date will be set by President Andrzej Duda, with October 15 the earliest constitutionally possible date, according to news outlets.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, tvp.info