If President Andrzej Duda thought he would thwart our plans, nothing could be further from the truth; We can resubmit the draft budget bill as a ruling party, and we can also introduce elements of this bill into the budget bill, Tomasz Trela, deputy head of the Left Club, told PAP. Adrian Zandberg also spoke about the president’s veto.
He added that MPs are likely to discuss the presidential bill on special solutions for the implementation of the 2024 budget law – which was submitted to the Sejm on Wednesday – during the Thursday meeting of the Sejm Committee on Public Finance.
On Saturday evening, President Andrzej Duda decided to veto the 2024 budget law, which included PLN 3 billion for public media.
Permission for this cannot be granted, given the blatant violation of the Constitution and the principles of a democratic constitutional state
– the president justified. He announced that after the holidays he would immediately submit his own bill to the Sejm, including on increases for teachers and other expenses planned in the budget law. The presidential bill was submitted to the Sejm on Wednesday.
PAP asked the deputy chairman of the Left Club, deputy head of the parliamentary committee for public finances, Tomasz Trela, about Andrzej Duda’s veto and the presidential project. According to him, the president “approached this issue selectively.”
Because Finance Minister Andrzej Domański and Prime Minister (Donald) Tusk have clearly said that this money is blocked until detailed reports on the state of the public media are presented, and the President has treated this money as a security.
– Trela noticed.
To me, the president’s arguments are purely political
– also said the politician.
The President wanted to do it before Christmas and he did, but if he thought it would ruin our plans or cause major embarrassment, nothing could be further from the truth.
– he said.
When asked by PAP what position the left-wing club would take during the vote on the presidential project, Trela answered that he did not know whether the project would be discussed during the plenary meeting.
Tomorrow there will be a meeting of the (Public) Finance Commission, we will start working on the draft budget for 2024, we will probably also talk about the presidential draft. Today there is a meeting of the Council of Ministers, where this subject will also be discussed
– he said.
The politician also pointed out that “there are several options when it comes to handling the budget law.”
We can resubmit it as a governing party and we can introduce elements of the budget law into the budget law
– he explained.
There is no final decision yet, but despite the President’s unfavorable decision, we will address this issue
– noted Trela .
Zandberg: Public media must be media that belongs to everyone
Public media should be media that belongs to everyone, and not to the party currently in power, the co-chair of the Razem party, left MP Adrian Zandberg, said in an interview with PAP. He added that it is the task of the government, the Sejm and the president to develop a new way of functioning of the public media.
In an interview with PAP, Zandberg emphasized that the Sejm works at its own pace. He added that the Public Finance Commission will meet on Thursday and Friday.
For me, the most important thing is that the increases for the budget, for people who work for the Polish state, actually become reality and this is our main task for the coming weeks.
– he said.
As for the President’s initiative, I think it will not change much, and these are the technical aspects in which it interferes
– added.
I would really hate to deprive people who are waiting for the pay increases they rightly deserve of their sense of security
– emphasized the left-wing MP.
These are not gifts, but money to compensate teachers and public sector workers for what they have lost due to the increase in the cost of living, due to inflation, and this should not be the subject of any game.
Zandberg emphasizes.
The left-wing MP was also asked about the PLN 3 billion for public media, which was not included in the draft budget bill.
I believe that public media are needed in Poland, but the main point is that if we finance public media with public money, from the state budget, that is, we finance them all, these media should be common.
– he emphasized.
These media should not be the media of the party currently in power, but should be media that truly belongs to everyone, and this does not mean that it should be clear to everyone that the intention is to include this or that political party to involve. is about taking into account the voice of society
– explains Zandberg.
The point is that these media must have space for trade unions, for climate movements, for social activities, of which there are many in Poland and the vast majority of which come from the grassroots, and which the public media must also give space to talk about . about them, so that the public debate in Poland, in this place not subject to the logic of the market, could take place seriously, and not in the form of shooting each other with sharp “hundreds” and it is worth spending money to pay for such public media
– added.
According to Zandberg, it is the task of the government, the Sejm and the president to develop a new way of functioning of the public media in Poland. He emphasized that it is not just about a return to what was before 2015.
I want to say very clearly: in our opinion, like Razem, it was good then, it was great, and then PiS came and ruined everything.
– he emphasized.
In Poland we have had the problem of public media bias by successive governments for years, and it is high time to get rid of this
– he pointed.
President Duda’s appeal to the Chairman of the Sejm
On Wednesday, the presidential bill on special solutions for the implementation of the 2024 budget law was submitted to the Sejm. President Andrzej Duda called on Sejm Chairman Szymon Hołownia to start legislative work as soon as possible and call on the Sejm to adopt the Law on Special Solutions for the Implementation of the 2024 Budget Law.
Due to the subject of the submitted bill, I appeal to the Marshal to begin legislative work as soon as possible and have the bill approved by the Sejm.
– wrote President Andrzej Duda in a covering letter addressed to the Chairman of the Sejm.
Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia said in a statement on Wednesday that the presidential draft will be submitted for consultation and sent to Prime Minister Donald Tusk to present the government’s position. Hołownia also emphasized that the Sejm would work in accordance with the schedule adopted by all political forces.
The next session of the Sejm will therefore take place on January 10-11, 2024
– recalls the Chairman of the Sejm.
tkwl/PAP
READ ALSO:
– Contempt for the head of state! Tusk: It doesn’t matter to convene the Sejm overnight because the president showed such a grimace
— A wave of reactions on the Internet after the Tusk conference. “Tears in the Face”; “He is under terrible pressure. He is afraid and makes mistakes”; “Everyone will sit”
Source: wPolityce