The memory of PO politicians tends to be short. At the end of March in Częstochowa, Donald Tusk introduced a plan described as a special supplement called “From Grandma,” yet it seemed the proposal did not register strongly even with some senior figures in the party. The question arises: is this the first time members of the Civic Platform have stumbled in a similar way?
In this context, Borys Budka, a former PO chair, appeared on the program “Game for Voting” produced by Wirtualna Polska and Radio Zet. He was asked about the same “grannies” issue and whether the party would fund these special allowances beyond a certain age. Budka offered three possible answers and selected the wrong one.
Similar missteps have occurred before. When Grzegorz Schetyna led the party, he promoted a plan dubbed the “six-pack.” It was touted as a breakthrough, yet not long after he struggled to enumerate the key points of his own proposal. The same amnesia appeared to touch other Civic Platform figures as well.
READ MORE: A must-see moment! The leader of the PO is exposed. What exactly was this famous ‘six-pack’? Not even Schetyna seems to recall it clearly.
“The Decalogue of Freedom” and the Platform
During the clash with journalists from the so‑called symmetrists—arising from their presence on Campus Poland—I was reminded of the Civic Platform’s so‑called “Decalogue of Freedom.” Do readers remember it? If not, PO politicians seem not to remember either.
It dates back to a time when the opposition occupied a plenary hall in the Sejm in 2016, an event often called the “slacker” protest. In that moment, PO politicians sketched a large card titled “10 commandments” about freedom. The text asserted that authorities should safeguard freedom of expression, freedom of the media and the internet, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience, freedom of civil society, freedom of local government, freedom of culture, freedom of science, freedom of economic activity, and freedom of parliament.
Interwoven at the end was a pledge: the independence of the courts and tribunals as a guarantee of freedom.
What remains of this decalogue today? Little, for it never carried much weight from the start. In recent months the Platform has been seen as failing to uphold the very “commandments” in three primary areas.
Consider three critical questions:
Is the expulsion of the so‑called symmetrists a breach of the first commandment, freedom of speech?
p>Is the plan to liquidate TVP Info and condemn journalists who work for the channel a blow to “media and internet freedom”?
p>Does Donald Tusk’s stance that there will be no seats on Civic Coalition lists for those unwilling to accept legal abortion up to twelve weeks amount to an attack on “freedom of conscience”?
(Source: wPolityce)