Ruling party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński spoke in the context of introducing the Polish Deal and the challenges associated with that process in an interview for Sieci weekly. Kaczyński assured that PiS, after five years in government, does not lack the energy and determination to carry out the ambitious economic plan designed to dramatically increase living standards for Poles and further modernize the country. He noted, however, that the greatest risks to the Polish Deal are external.
Some of these risks are connected to Poland’s security, and while the government has made major inroads to make Poland safe, it has also been openly speaking of the need to radically increase military spending.
Other risks are associated with the pandemic. Kaczyński emphasized that “if we do not extinguish the pandemic, the planned development may be impossible.” He noted that the infections must be eliminated entirely because otherwise there will be occasional large outbreaks which will lead to trouble.
Germany should pay us back hundreds of billions of dollars for all the damages from the Second World War period, although we also have not forgotten the robberies from the First World War.
The leader of PiS also spoke in context of the ban on eugenic abortion in October 2020 and the resulting protests. He stated that he had called for the defense of churches against some protesters and admitted that the situation was a serious, yet transitional crisis. He noted, however, that support for the government, specifically among women, had dropped.
Kaczyński added that many people were led to believe that an absolute ban on abortion was imposed, which is not true.
“Abortion is still permitted in the case of rape or when the pregnancy threatens the health and life of the mother, including her mental health,” said the deputy prime minister.
Kaczyński denied there being any plans for early elections. He said the Polish Deal is a program which requires a lot of time and some of it goes beyond the current term, which means early elections would only distract from the government’s goals.
He also supported the reconstruction of the Saxon Palace in Warsaw, destroyed by Germans during the Second World War and war reparations from Germany.
“Germany should pay us back hundreds of billions of dollars for all the damages from the Second World War period, although we also have not forgotten the robberies from the First World War. We will be raising this issue,” Kaczyński declared.
