2020-09-18 19:27 update: 2020-09-21, 09:54
Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
Any attempt to dismiss Solidary Poland leader Zbigniew Ziobro from the post of minister of justice and prosecutor general would mean an early election, and would be a gift for the opposing Civic Platform and LGBT organisations, Solidary Poland politicians said on Friday.
A group of MPs from Solidary Poland, a member party of the ruling United Right coalition, called a conference on Friday to explain the party's negative position on a bill that seeks to decriminalise violations of official duties or other regulations by officials acting to prevent and combat COVID-19.
Representatives of Solidary Poland declared that they would vote against this bill. The vote was supposed to take place on Thursday, but the bill was previously withdrawn by PiS. In addition, MPs from Solidary Poland voted against the amendment to the Animal Protection Act on Thursday night, although the PiS club ordered a voting discipline for its adoption.
Solidary Poland deputy head, deputy justice minister Michal Wojcik said at Friday's conference that the bill on the responsibility of officials would lead to "certain social groups being favoured in a special way" and treated "better" than the rest of society. According to the deputy minister, the bill violated the constitutional principle of equality before the law.
"Solidary Poland has never voted, does not and will never vote for any regulation that would violate this fundamental principle," said Wojcik. He also thanked the PiS leadership for withdrawing the bill, which was opposed by both the Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro and the whole of Solidary Poland.
Wojcik also said that his group had the right to comment on the amendment to Poland's Animal Protection Act which, according to Solidary Poland, strikes at the heart of the Polish countryside and farmers.
Politicians of Solidary Poland emphasised that five years ago their party decided to be in the United Right together with "friends from PiS and the Agreement party" in order to "change Poland".
"For five years we have been a loyal partner, for five years we have participated in thousands of votes and we have always voted loyally. For five years we have managed to change Poland. We have prepared and implemented many reforms, social and judicial reforms, and the symbol of these changes is Minister of Justice, Public Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro," said Wojcik.
Janusz Kowalski, deputy minister of state assets, said that any attempt to dismiss Zbigniew Ziobro means an election which would be "a gift for PO (the Civic Platform opposition party) and for the LGBT movement, something which the pharmaceutical and fuel mafias are waiting for." "We cannot agree to this," he said.
According to Kowalski, Ziobro "is a symbol of good change, a symbol of all the good that has happened in the judiciary in the last five years", a symbol of "the hard fight against VAT mafias", of "a resounding 'NO' to LGBT organisations accessing Polish schools", and "the fact that Brussels will not introduce its subjective principles of the rule of law in Poland". "Poland will never agree to the European Union taking away funds as long as Zbigniew Ziobro is the minister of justice," he added.
Kowalski added that "Zbigniew Ziobro's Solidary Poland is a loyal coalition partner of the United Right," but the party was also loyal to their voters and emphasised that when the right is united it wins elections, and when it is divided it loses them. (PAP)
