“We do not want to decide how you should live. We do not want to impose our views on you. You know best how to spend your money, how to raise your children and what to do on Sundays”—with these words Robert Gwiazdowski addressed Piotr Roman, a representative of the Non-Party Local Government Officials movement and mayor of Bolesławiec.
“Here in Bolesławiec, as in thousands of other cities, we know that a hole in the road is something to be repaired, not an ideological problem to be debated. You have left us quite a few holes here,” joked Piotr Roman, speaking about the lack of a political vision among the largest political groups. “Since you have failed to repair them for 30 years, we will help,” the mayor of Bolesławiec added.
The program of the coalition of the Non-Party Local Government Officials and Polska Fair Play is based on Robert Gwiazdowski’s program proposals presented at the convention of this new political movement. The most important of them is the reform of the tax system. “When will Poles finally start earning more?” was the central theme of Robert Gwiazdowski’s month-long tour of Poland. Speaking to full halls, he presented proposals for reforming the state: abolishing PIT and CIT, as well as contributions to the National Health Fund, ZUS, the Labour Fund and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund. In their place, he proposes introducing a payroll fund tax and a revenue tax.
A firm supporter of the program is Cezary Kaźmierczak, president of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and a special guest at the convention. “Reforming the state must begin with reforming the tax system,” he said. “Until now, millions of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs have had no political representation. At last, there is a chance to change this,” he added.
Robert Gwiazdowski’s program also includes a number of proposals previously put forward by local government officials. One example is the idea of deglomeration, meaning the relocation from Warsaw of central government offices that do not require constant contact with the Sejm or the Prime Minister’s Chancellery. “We want our small and medium-sized cities to thrive, and cultural centers not to be permanently tied to a few major cities,” said Elżbieta Hibner, a former deputy finance minister representing the Non-Party Local Government Officials from Łódź.
Konrad Rytel of the Mazowiecka Local Government Community spoke about the need to build a service-oriented state for residents and to restructure the electoral system so that it rewards voters’ opinions rather than the party apparatus. “You must know that none of us is here by accident or to kill time. When I look around the room, I see that all the local government officials and entrepreneurs are people who had to leave their companies, meetings with residents and all their daily work. Yes, even on Saturday—we do not have free Sundays; this is the life we chose,” he said.
The convention repeatedly returned to the proposal to introduce single-member electoral districts in elections at all levels. It was emphasized that this is the only realistic way to restore politicians’ direct accountability to voters.
An important element of the PFP program is reform of the justice system. PFP does not consider the changes introduced by PiS to constitute reform. “The Polish justice system should be reformed, not appropriated,” Robert Gwiazdowski stated. The proposed changes include appointing Peace Judges and drastically shortening the duration of court proceedings. PFP calls for 10 years of experience in other legal professions before a judicial appointment can be made.
The elections to the European Parliament will be the movement’s first challenge, but Robert Gwiazdowski is already announcing that his formation will run in the autumn elections to the national parliament.