Duda calls for social ease in New Year's Eve address
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
01.01.2017 07:21
Polish President Andrzej Duda in a New Year's Eve address said Poland needs “social ease” amid a simmering political crisis.
Polish President Andrzej Duda. Photo: Grzegorz Jakubowski/KPRP.
He said: "we should not to allow ourselves to get carried away with political emotions", adding that Poles should "conduct civilised dialogue" and "respect the rules of democracy".
Duda was referring to an ongoing sit-in in Poland's lower house in protest against the vote on the 2017 budget bill.
Strong social policy
In his New Year's Eve address, Duda summed up 2016 with praise for social policy.
He said the government's 500+ programme of aid for families with children, raising the minimum wage, introducing free medicine for elderly people and lowering the retirement age gave Poles "a feeling of dignity and belief that governments can be fairer".
Increased security
He said Poland was safer, with increased NATO presence in the country and increased spending on military, especially on domestically manufactured equipment.
Duda also said that Poland was safer becausee of strong political alliances, adding that Poland was "one of the biggest and most important countries in the European Union”. (vb)
Source: prezydent.pl