“There is no objection on the part of the President to the appointment of public media authorities returning to the National Broadcasting Council, a constitutional body, in accordance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court. However, this requires a majority of the Sejm, the Senate and ultimately a decision by the president,” said Małgorzata Paprocka, minister in the KPRP.
In today’s interview with the Onet portal, the Secretary of State of the Presidential Chancellery was asked about President Andrzej Duda’s approach to the issue of changes in the management of public media.
Paprocka: It has not been possible to develop a model in which pluralism in the media would be successful
Mr. President, in his recent statements (…) says clearly: over the years of his activities, it has not been possible to develop such a model that would make this pluralism and action beyond media divisions successful.
– emphasized the minister.
I hate this term, but it has always been the case that whoever won the election introduced governing councils. In such a situation, to circumvent the constitution and laws, you must do so on the basis of a non-binding act, such as a resolution of the Sejm, even though the majority has the power to change the law… For all Clarity: There is no objection on the part of the President to the return of issues relating to the appointment of boards of directors or supervisory boards. – in accordance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court – to the National Broadcasting Council, to the constitutional body. But this requires a majority in the Sejm, the Senate and ultimately a decision by the president,” she noted.
The President does not deny the right of the majority to appoint boards of directors of the media
As Paprocka added: “nobody denies that the parliamentary majority, the new government, has the right to make changes; “We are looking for democratic elections, this is something completely natural.”
The minister at the KPRP also emphasized that “Mr. President very clearly – both in official correspondence, in writing, but also in a one-on-one conversation with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Chairman of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia – presented his opinion on the situation in the media.” She added that this issue was also discussed during the National Security Council meeting on Wednesday.
The Chairman: The constitution was flagrantly violated by Minister Sienkiewicz
Referring to the events related to changes in public media, the President emphasized on December 21 in an interview with Radio ZET that he would like to see decency in public life and the rule of law in Poland.
Unfortunately, what happened yesterday completely contradicts this, because yesterday the constitution was blatantly violated by Minister Sienkiewicz.
– said Andrzej Duda.
On the evening of December 19, the Sejm adopted a resolution “on the restoration of the rule of law and the impartiality and reliability of the public media and the Polish Press Agency”, calling on the Ministry of Finance to take corrective measures.
A day later, the Ministry of Culture announced that the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, as the body that implements the property rights of the Ministry of Finance, is acting on the basis of the provisions of the Commercial Code – without taking into account the laws superior to these provisions – dismissed on December 19 the current chairmen of the boards of directors of Telewizja Polska SA, Polskiego Radio SA and the Polish Press Agency SA and the supervisory board. The minister has appointed new supervisory boards of the above-mentioned companies. Companies that have appointed new management boards.
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PAP/rdm
Source: wPolityce