Eighty-nine of the one hundred promised specifics for the first 100 days of the new government were not carried out, including the central pledge to raise the tax-free threshold to PLN 60,000. This stance was highlighted by Confederation lawmakers, who urged voters to remember these gaps as elections approach.
Friday marks the 100th day since Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office, a government formed with KO, Lewica and Trzecia Droga.
These 100 days, critics argue, have been filled with unkept promises, as only nine of the one hundred detailed commitments were fulfilled by Mr. Tusk, Mr. Hołownia, and Mr. Czarzasty.
— Confederation MP Krzysztof Mulawa said at a Friday press conference, reviewing how KO’s campaign promises were being realized in the first three months of governance.
Mulawa described the supposed “perfect summary” of KO’s 100 specifics program as the act of drafting a bill to raise the tax-free allowance to PLN 60,000. He suggested that this move now looks unlikely to materialize.
“We already hear that it was just a joke,” he commented, noting that it appears the plan to revise this crucial element of the 100 details would be unlikely.
— added.
Confederation MP Marcin Sypniewski pointed out that VAT on food was set to rise to 5% starting in April.
He argued that a tax cut should have occurred, but instead VAT on everyday staples was increased, disproportionately affecting the country’s poorest residents.
He remarked that Donald Tusk’s ascent to power was supposed to usher in a period of openness, but farmers felt targeted during protests. Confederation MPs who participated in those farmer protests also felt the impact.
According to Sypniewski, the prime minister announced the suspension of Ukrainian grain imports into Poland, claiming that the government did not fully grasp the farmers’ difficult situation.
He argued that foreign policy was lacking seriousness, pointing to the suspension of concerns about the Green Deal which he views as harmful to Poland, and to the government’s stance on that policy as another missed opportunity.
On behalf of the Confederation, the MP urged Poles to remember during this electoral period that many promises had not been kept.
At the conference’s close, MPs cut a ceremonial cake bearing the prime minister’s image, which Mulawa said was meant to “sweeten this time of lies.” He announced a desire to meet with the head of government to offer him a slice for discussion.
Earlier on Friday, another Confederation figure, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Krzysztof Bosak, rated the first hundred days of Tusk’s government as a “two.” In an interview on Radio Plus, he described the preceding three months as characterized by chaotic changes, shifting government positions, and attempts to govern through resolutions and public statements.
He added that there are effectively no government projects implementing the coalition’s parliamentary program.
Instead, Bosak said, the administration appeared to govern via resolutions, press releases, or regulations that risk breaking the law, particularly in areas related to media and the prosecution.
— he stated.
Recording from the prime minister
A recording released on social media on Friday features Prime Minister Tusk discussing the first hundred days of governance, noting that while some governments enjoy peace in this period, his did not. He claimed that the pace of promise fulfillment would accelerate and cited a few achievements: recovering substantial sums from EU funds within a month, funding increases for teachers and the national budget, and the prospect of a universal grandmother’s allowance of PLN 1,500 monthly for childcare.
During the previous electoral campaign, KO presented the so-called “100 special features for the first 100 days,” including raising the tax-free amount to PLN 60,000, unlocking EU funds, introducing a monthly childcare grant of PLN 1,500, financing in vitro treatments from the state budget, enabling access to emergency contraception without a prescription, and extending abortion access up to the 12th week under certain conditions, along with a 30% pay increase for teachers, depoliticizing public media, insulating the courts from political influence, holding the PiS government to account, and returning to a flat-rate health insurance premium system.
mly/PAP
Source: wPolityce