The evening meeting in Bolesławiec began half an hour late. That day, the politicians had held similar meetings with residents of Kowary and Jelenia Góra. Bolesławiec was the final Tuesday stop as part of the #Kobietynawybory campaign.
The meeting, which was supposed to begin with a press conference, was limited to brief speeches by the MPs and the deputy minister. This was due to the delay and lack of time. In their short speeches, the MPs sought to encourage people to go to the polls and vote for the Civic Coalition’s candidate for President of the Republic of Poland, Rafał Trzaskowski. Immediately after the speeches, Katarzyna Lubnauer left the meeting, explaining that she had to leave urgently.
Four MPs took part in the open meeting with Bolesławiec residents: Zofia Czernow, Monika Wielichowska, Dorota Łoboda and Małgorzata Tracz. Around 50 people gathered in the room, most of them members and supporters of the Civic Coalition–Civic Platform. The MPs were welcomed by the Chair of the District Civic Platform structures, Karol Stasik, who briefly told the parliamentarians what Bolesławiec is known for.
The MPs then took the floor. They discussed the upcoming elections, the international situation and our country’s security, women’s fight for their rights, women’s councils, equality, national and sexual minorities, abortion, the use of the conscience clause, access to contraception, and the flooding, its consequences and lessons for the future. They also discussed election polling and the growing support for Confederation. The parliamentarians answered questions from the audience.
The Civic Coalition MPs sharply criticised the rhetoric and narrative used by Confederation politicians. They accused them of manipulation and propaganda that must be debunked. According to the Civic Coalition MPs, people should be reminded of Confederation’s true views, expressed, among other things, in the so-called Confederation Five, which is not being discussed now, before the elections. The sharpest criticism came in a statement by Bolesławiec MP Małgorzata Tracz, who said:
Let me put it this way. Fascism comes in colourful suits, with suitcases full of money. And that is precisely what Confederation is.
What else did MP Małgorzata Tracz say about Confederation? Here is a recording of an excerpt from the MP’s statement featuring the quote cited above:
The rest of the meeting focused on what had and had not been achieved. The MPs indicated that the problem preventing the governing coalition from fulfilling its pre-election promises was the attitude of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, who does not cooperate but obstructs the government’s actions. In their view, there will be no such problem when Rafał Trzaskowski is elected president. The MPs asked for help with the election campaign, for people to talk to residents and persuade them to vote for the Civic Coalition’s presidential candidate.
The consequences of last year’s flooding were also discussed. MP Zofia Czernow said that she had reported the problem of breached flood embankments in the Bolesławiec municipality to Wody Polskie and was still actively working on the matter. She also spoke about years of neglect concerning the condition of rivers and reservoirs—the effects of which we were able to see in September last year.