Grind the third way! “I think there is no point in continuing such a coalition as it has looked so far”; “The result couldn’t have been better”

PSL MPs in an interview with PAP wonder about the future of the coalition with Poland in 2050, that is, the Third Way project. “I believe there is no point in continuing such a coalition as it has looked so far,” said Jarosław Rzepa. According to Marek Sawicki, the leaders of both parties should talk to each other.

In the European Parliament elections, the Civic Coalition won 21 seats, Law and Justice – 20, Confederation – 6, Trzecia Droga (PSL and Poland 2050) – 3 and Left – 3. The seats for the European Parliament of the Third Way were won by: Michał Kobosko (Poland 2050), Krzysztof Hetman (PSL) and Adam Jarubas (PSL).

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Big disappointment

In an interview with PAP, PSL MPs made no secret of their disappointment with the outcome of the Third Way.

I was convinced that the Third Way could deliver six to eight seats for the European Parliament

– emphasized Marek Sawicki.

He said Third Way has “slept through the campaign” over the past two weeks.

We were unable to respond to the intensity of the dispute between PO and PiS, both in terms of the settlements of PiS politicians and the abuses that took place there, as well as in terms of problems with governance and the eastern border. Here we – as the Third Way – reacted too late and too weak

– said the PSL MP.

Sawicki pointed out that the result was within the limits of PSL’s capabilities when it comes to the European elections.

This has been the case since 2004, we are constantly at the level of 3-4 seats and regardless of which configuration we choose, this result repeats itself.

– emphasized the MP from the People’s Party.

When asked about the future of the Third Way coalition after the poor showing in the European Parliament, Sawicki replied that “the leaders of both parties should just sit down and talk to each other.”

Because we cannot have a situation where we have varying messages from time to time. We must tell each other clearly that when it comes to ideological issues, we take different paths, but at least in the economic field there must be unity.

– he said.

A prerequisite for the coalition’s survival

When asked whether the Third Way should continue to exist, the People’s Party MP replied:

In my opinion, yes, provided that the leaders understand that they must place a very clear emphasis on this Third Way, this concept of understanding, cooperation, the search for common solutions and sometimes, if necessary, tend towards the political competition that good wants to support solutions. we must also clearly tell the PO coalition partner that you will support our solutions or that others will support them. “We also have the right to implement our election program because we announced it to the voters and that is why we have two clubs in the Sejm.

– noted Sawicki.

Asked whether he thought KO, which achieved the best result in these elections, would now try to demote its coalition partners in government, the PSL MP said no.

Because Prime Minister Donald Tusk is a wise man and he knows very well that he cannot function without coalition partners. It can flex its muscles, but only as long as the coalition partners have enough patience. Therefore, there is no need for Prime Minister Tusk to show anything or bend anything, because that makes absolutely no sense.

– Sawicki emphasized.

We have agreed to govern after the elections to the national parliament, and not after the elections to the European Parliament

– noted the PSL MP

Another MP from the People’s Party, Jarosław Rzepa, also spoke in a similar tone.

We counted on 5-6 seats, these were our expectations. However, I think that if you run a campaign like we do, and I approach it very critically, the result could not have been better. Even though the people were tired and the turnout showed that, it still seems to me that we were not motivated enough and fought for a better result.

– said Rzepa.

According to him, the involvement of TD candidates in this campaign was low.

Apart from the leaders of the lists, I actually have the impression that no one really cared that this result would be better

– said the MP of the People’s Party.

When asked about the meaning of continuing the functioning of the PSL coalition with Poland in 2050, that is, the Third Way, Rzepa replied that “the answer to this question lies before us.”

I think there is enough time to go our own way, if we decide to go back on our own – as PSL

– he assessed.

Because – as he added – “I think there is no point in continuing such a coalition as it has looked so far.”

Or we will just have a very serious conversation about the future of the Third Way project, which I am not saying is entirely bad, because it is clear that it made sense in the national parliament. But we have to answer this question today: either we continue and behave as partners, or we behave as before; Either we work and give everything, or we pretend to work

– said Turnip.

Therefore, I am waiting for an answer to the question of whether it is worth continuing this project

– added the PSL MP.

When asked about the future of the governing coalition after the EP elections, Rzepa said that if Prime Minister Tusk, for example, wanted to renegotiate the coalition agreement based on the results of the EP elections, he would consider whether to join the coalition sit still. “in which Tusk is unfortunately one of the ways to impose the will on smaller coalition partners, and today he would impose it even more.”

The question is: why should we be in such a coalition?

– says the MP of the People’s Party.

All these questions are before us, for PSL as a whole, for PSL and Poland 2050 and for the overall governing coalition. I would rather not rock this boat because I think we can do a lot of things together, but we also have to do them as partners. Because if we want to be just a taste of whatever Tusk decides, and we will not be able to implement the issues that we agreed with our voters, I do not see the point of such a coalition.

– noted Rzepa.

Changes and conversations

After Sunday’s EP elections, Poland 2050 will face changes within the party and talks about structures in the regions. However, the decision on the future of the Third Road political project is still before us – explain the head of the club, Mirosław Suchoń, and the party’s vice-chairman, Michał Kobosko, in an interview with PAP.

In Sunday’s EP elections, the Civic Coalition received the strongest support, with a gain of 37.06 percent. to vote. 36.16% voted for Law and Justice. voters won the Confederacy 12.08 percent, Third Road – 6.91 percent and the Left – 6.3 percent. For example, Third Road won three seats in the European Parliament elections; they were obtained by Michał Kobosko (Poland 2050), Krzysztof Hetman and Adam Jarubas (PSL).

During election night, immediately after the election results were announced, the leaders of the formation did not hide their disappointment. However, they stressed that they were aware from the start that the European Parliament elections would be the most difficult for their formation among the three electoral “triple jumps” of recent months. They also pointed out that low turnout weakened centrist parties, while polarization and extremes mobilized the most persistent electorate.

“We accept this signal, we know what to do,” PSL President, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said about the election results. The Chairman of Poland 2050, Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia, assured that the result of the Third Way is not a reason to “tear your clothes”, but an encouragement to work much harder. “There is no change in the national parliament in terms of the distribution of power,” he stated.

Other TD politicians also spoke in a similar tone, commenting behind the scenes on the election results and saying that they apparently needed a defeat to “shake off” their previous electoral successes and start working on strengthening party structures .

Vice President of Poland 2050 Michał Kobosko, the only politician from Szymon Hołownia’s party to win a mandate in Sunday’s EP elections, was asked by PAP whether the result of the Third Way will translate into national politics and the balance of power within the EU. the ruling coalition. “We do not believe that sudden changes or reshuffles in the government are necessary,” he said.

He admitted that Poland is planning changes by 2050. “Even before the elections, we assumed that after the European elections we would start talking about our structures in individual regions and about changes that had been postponed due to the ongoing election campaigns. Now we will work on strengthening our organization, fortunately there is still some time until the next elections,” said Kobosko.

He also announced that, after taking up his mandate as a Member of the European Parliament, he plans to remain Poland’s First Vice President in 2050, although the final decision on this matter rests with the party leader, President of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia, will lie. “We will talk about it, but there will definitely be changes in the party management,” he added.

However, analysts and political scientists wonder whether the Third Way political project will fall apart as part of the post-election arrangements. The president of the Poland 2050 club, Mirosław Suchoń, was asked by PAP whether the Third Way will survive after the European Parliament elections and replied: “the decision on this issue is still before us.”

He emphasized that now is the time to summarize and reflect on the results. “We will talk about it within the party and we will certainly continue to work to gain the trust of our voters,” he assured. “I won’t say that these results will satisfy us, but they will certainly motivate us to work harder,” he added.

The politician also judged that the Third Way election outcome was the result of several factors. “The first is that the government blocks our program goals, such as: family PIT, reimbursement of contraception or the same health insurance premium for everyone, as a result of which citizens did not see the effectiveness of our actions. The second point is the polarization game, which has clearly led to extremes being the most important. Such a game is very dangerous, because if we were to hold national elections now, PiS would win the Confederation,” Suchoń said.

When asked about the conclusions for the party from these elections, Suchoń admitted that now is the time for reflection and that everyone in the party has a lot of work ahead of them, as well as inevitable changes. “For now we are in the phase of analyzing the results. But normal work will certainly finally begin, because the past few months have been a constant campaign, which is not conducive to building internal structures,” he said. “There will also be changes within the party,” he added.

gah/PAP