Frustrated with the current, “archaic,” political system, Dawid Jackiewicz, former Law and Justice (PiS) state treasury minister and MEP, has announced the creation of a new formation, Ambitna Polska (Ambitious Poland), as an alternative to the dominant political parties.
Jackiewicz had planned on running in the upcoming Polish presidential election this May and collected more than the 100,000 signatures of support required to run. However, the National Electoral Commission rejected his candidacy, saying that many signatures could not be verified. Errors found included some minor issues, such as abbreviated names of cities (“Wawa” instead of “Warszawa”) and incomplete addresses; however, other issues concerned outdated PESEL (national ID) numbers and signatures of people who may have already died.
The former minister says candidates do not have any tools to independently check the correctness of signatures.
“We are condemned to good faith. We do not have access to databases. Accusing candidates of irregularities is absurd. The system is archaic and must change,” Jackiewicz told Salon24.
Jackiewicz is calling for the introduction of modern digital solutions, such as electronic signatures via the mObywatel application, which would eliminate problems with signature verification.
“Politics has gone to the dogs – literally,” he said, in reference to the current presidential campaign. In particular, Jackiewicz is calling out how candidates, wanting to please voters, make empty promises that go beyond the real competences of the president.
“We have a festival of shameless promises, politicians say anything to get votes,” he told the portal, adding that society has already become accustomed to the fact that after the elections politicians forget about the declarations they made. He also accused the two main candidates, Rafał Trzaskowski (KO) and Karol Nawrocki (PiS), of partisanship and lack of independence.
“Poles need an independent president,” Jackiewicz said.
He is appealing both to politicians for responsibility, and to voters to hold politicians accountable for their promises.
His new party, Ambitna Polska, plans to attract voters tired of the dominance of PiS and Civic Platform.
“Poles are tired of the conflict between the two main parties. More than half of society would like a new formation — a more pragmatic party, focused on solving real problems,” argued the former state treasury minister.
According to him, the new movement should focus primarily on economic issues, improving the quality of state management and reducing overregulation.
“We want to put ideological issues on the back burner. What counts are pro-development, deregulation issues, such that will allow Polish entrepreneurs to develop,” said Jackiewicz.
Ambitious Poland does not intend to build support on emotions around moral issues, but on improving the living conditions of Poles who create jobs and pay taxes. “Less ideology, more economy, this is what Poles expect today,” Jackiewicz sums up, adding that talks are already underway with representatives of business, non-governmental organizations and local government officials.
“My mission is not over. In politics, you have to try until you succeed,” he said. He also encouraged citizens to be more politically active and participate in public life, despite the obstacles posed by the system.
