Rafał Trzaskowski has said he will meet with Confederation’s Sławomir Mentzen, who came in third place in the first round of Poland’s presidential election. The mayor of Warsaw and KO candidate came in first, with 31.4 percent of the vote. He will go up against independent Karol Nawrocki, backed by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, who got 29.5 percent.
Trzaskowski says he will not promise anything, referring to hopes from Mentzen that he would sign a proposal during a joint discussion with Nawrocki to be broadcast on YouTube this Saturday at 7 p.m., according to Wydarzenia.
On that broadcast, the two politicians are set to discuss their program as well as possibly sign a declaration that they would, as president, fulfill several demands important for Confederation voters.
The declaration Mentzen is asking the two presidential candidates to sign includes the following, according to Do Rzeczy:
1. I will not sign any bill that increases existing taxes, contributions and fees for Poles or introduces new fiscal burdens.
2. I will not sign any law restricting cash circulation and I will protect the Polish zloty.
3. I will not sign any law restricting the freedom of expression of views consistent with the Polish Constitution.
4. I will not allow Polish soldiers to be sent to the territory of Ukraine
5. I will not sign the law on ratification of Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
6. I will not sign any law restricting Poles’ access to weapons.
7. I will not agree to transfer any competencies of the authorities of the Republic of Poland to the bodies of the European Union.
8. I will not sign or ratify any new EU treaties that weaken Poland’s role, for example by weakening its voting power or taking away Poland’s right of veto.
Confederation MP Przemysław Wipler suggested on social media that not accepting the invitation to talk to Sławomir Mentzen could be crucial for Poles’ voting in the second round.
“Whoever refuses to talk to Sławomir Mentzen will lose. Just like Bronisław Komorowski and Paweł Kukiz debates with Andrzej Duda. These conversations, if they take place, will have greater viewership than any debate in this campaign and will change more than these debates,” he wrote.
“Sławomir Mentzen invited me to his YouTube channel, for a discussion. Yes, I’ll come, we’ll talk,” he said.
“My competitor, Karol Nawrocki, announced that he will sign the declaration prepared by Sławomir Mentzen. I don’t know what they have in PiS with this signing quickly and blindly. We already have one such president. Therefore, Mr. Sławomir, I can’t guarantee you that I will sign anything, but I can guarantee that we will talk honestly,” he added.
Trzaskowski admitted that he would not agree with some of the postulates, but “an open debate is something that we all need.” At the same time, he added that during the discussion “he will look for something that unites, not divides.”
“I also promise all my competitors, all my friends that if I win the presidential election, I will meet with you, I will listen to you because every vote counts. Unlike my competitor, I say this seriously,” he emphasized.
The Civic Coalition candidate also said electing Nawrocki would mean “Poland’s return to the periphery.”
“My rival does not hide the fact that the aim of his presidency is to lead to a government crisis — quarrels, problems,” he argued.
He also claimed that the Nawrocki, supported by the ruling conservative Law & Justice (PiS), would work hand in hand with ultra-nationalist and extreme Catholic Grzegorz Braun. “Have no illusions, this is an extreme, radical politician. This is a politician who would most like to march with Grzegorz Braun on the streets of Poland. Let’s not allow this, go vote, choose wisely, because then all of Poland will win,” he appealed.
Meanwhile, over in the PiS camp, MEP and former PM Beata Szydło told journalist Bogdan Rymanowski that it is “clear” that Sławomir Mentzen’s voters are “really people for whom values, economic development, the future and sovereignty of Poland are important.”
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