Poland Update – Ruling Coalition Disagrees & more – 16th May 2023

th of May: 2023

Let’s start with hot debates in domestic affairs…

The ruling coalition is cracking down…

On Wednesday, the 10th, the Law and Justice and Sovereign Poland, the ruling coalition, conflicted on a parliamentary proposal. MPs from the Law and Justice wanted to displace four representatives of Sovereign Poland from the justice committee in the parliament. Yet, the majority rejected the proposal since other opposition parties, just as the Civic Platform, supported Sovereign Poland with their votes.

On the same news, reporters stated that the parties of the ruling coalition are likely to stand for the elections separately. Analysts said that there is neither trust nor willingness between the parties to have the elections on a joint list.

Speaking of the parliament, political parties will think about gender reassignment…

On Wednesday, the 11th, the Ordo Iuris Institute launched a project to the parliament that will propose the prohibition of gender reassignment. The initiative came after intense debates about the ‘sexualization of children’ in the country. The draft proposes that any doctor who performs gender reassignment on teenagers will face three years in prison. The Institute expects that the Law and Justice party will support the proposal since they are against LGBT+ movements.

The minister of the ruling party continues to limit academic freedom…

On Wednesday, the 10th, Przemysław Czarnek, the minister of education, said he was against the academics who supported Prof. Barbara Engelking. She criticized the behavior of Poles during WW2 toward Jews. Previously, Czarnek stated that he would not fund institutions that cursed the Polish nation. This week, reporters asked him about the reaction of the University of Warsaw to the issue. He said he monitors those kinds of institutions that are against the nation, and he will not fund them. Critics said that this is clearly a restriction on academic freedom in a democratic country.

More news on the ruling party, the PM expressed his opinions about the death penalty…

On Wednesday, the 10th, Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, stated that he personally supports the introduction of the death penalty in the country. The statement came after the nation-wide condemnation of an eight-year-old child’s tragic death after his father tortured him. Morawiecki stated that since Poland has accepted the European Convention on Human Rights, the country cannot introduce the death penalty. Yet the country may choose to leave the Convention in the future. Reporters think that this may open a new topic of debate between the EU and Poland.

Also, there was another serious debate between the government and the army…

ssile that hit Poland in late: 2022

On the same news, the commander of the Polish army stated that the country should not show any weakness over the issue. Reporters stated that the disagreement led to a division between the army and government, as it seemed like these two did not work closely amid the increasing threat from Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. The commander said this debate should not encourage the opponent.

Another object entered Polish airspace this Monday…

On Monday, the 15th, Poland’s Territorial Defense Force announced that an object, most probably a hot balloon, entered Polish airspace from Belarusian lands. The Polish defense ministry stated that the object could be a spy balloon. The army officers started a region-wide search to find where the object would hit the ground. They wanted to find out if anyone was on the board of the object. Authorities asked people in the region to help identify it.

Let’s also talk about the main rival of the ruling party…

On Thursday, the 11th, Donald Tusk, the leader of the main opposition, asked for financial help from Poles. The head of the Civic Platform stated that the banks of his party are empty amid the pre-election campaign. His party gets almost five million dollars per year as a subsidy from the state. After the calls, his supporters deposited almost 600,000 dollars to the party’s bank. Tusk asked for more since the ruling party, his main rival, has way more funds for its campaigns.

Also, two opposition parties came together against the ruling party and the Civic Platform,

tion. The center-right Poland: 2050

When we come to foreign affairs…

The tension between Russia and Poland continues this week in a different form…

On Thursday, the 11th, reporters stated that Poland would rename a Russian city from Kaliningrad to Królewiec. Kaliningrad is a Russian land without any physical connection with Russia since the city is located between Poland and Belarus. Polish authorities decided to change the name of the city, calling it Królewiec, the Polish version of the city’s name. Russia regarded the moves as a hostile act against the country.

The country also had peaceful talks with its allies…

Weimar Triangle group in the: 1990

In unrelated news…

On Monday, the 15th, a study showed that Poles are returning to the country after the economic growth and improved standards of living. The Sun, a news outlet, reported that the Polish economy has grown in recent years, and the country now attracts various investors, including tech giants like Google and Netflix. The study showed that Polish expats from the UK are now returning to the country.

Speaking of the economy,

On Monday, the 15th, institutions announced a couple of good news stories for the Polish economy in the coming months and years. The European Commission raised its growth expectation for the Polish economy to 0.7 percent for this year and 2.7 percent for the following year. Also, Statistics Poland, or GUS, declared that yearly inflation had fallen to 14.7 in April. The chief of the central bank said that inflation will fall further in the next few months.

We are finishing our stories with a warning about the weather in summer…

On Tuesday, the 16th, experts announced that the country may experience ‘scary’ temperatures this summer amid the rising effects of climate change. The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management warned that in summer, the temperatures can go above the average of the previous thirty years. This will create oppressive heat and heat waves that will bother people. An expert said this is a clear sign that climate change increasingly affects people’s lives each year

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! We are a few people trying to share knowledge, with no ads, and no screens. Support us so we can keep doing what we love. Check the link in our show notes to support us.

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