Primary elections in KO. Barbara Nowacka reveals who invented them

Prime minister Donald Tusk announced that the primary elections in the Civic Coalition before the presidential elections will be held later this month, probably on November 23. On December 7 in Silesia, the winning candidate – the mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski or the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski – will present its program.

The decision to organize primaries before the presidential elections, which will select one candidate of the Civic Coalition for president, was made on Saturday by the national board of PO. At the conference at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Donald Tusk pointed out that the leaders of the other coalition parties, i.e. Nowoczesna, Inicjatywa Polska and the Greens, also participated in the meeting.

Minister of Education Barbara Nowacka she said on Tuesday in “Piasecki's Rozmowa” on TVN24 that for KO the primaries are a good moment for us to talk about our proposal for Poland, what our vision is, what the next steps are. – And look, the primaries, which Besides, Rafał Trzaskowski asked the management board, they make us talk about it and not think about the widespread PiS – she added.

She said that when she ran for the PO board, “we were prepared for the primary election scenario.” – Because it was Rafał Trzaskowski's idea – she added. As Nowacka said, Prime Minister Donald Tusk “enthusiastically accepted the idea.”

Nowacka said she was keeping her fingers crossed for political activity within Radosław Sikorski's party. Speaking about Trzaskowski, she said that “he can connect and mobilize people.” In her opinion, it proved useful in difficult situations for Poland, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or during the beginning of the refugee crisis.

Nowacka also referred to the issue of religion in schools. She was asked whether there was a compromise between the Ministry of National Education and the Church regarding how many religion classes there should be per week.

She said that the consultation includes a regulation of the Ministry of National Education, which introduces one compulsory religion lesson, paid from the state budget. She emphasized that she cared “about the well-being of children, a decent separation of church and state and one religion lesson a week”, but also about “good dialogue and seeking understanding.”

– I see no justification why a child at school should have more religion lessons, which are catechesis, than biology, chemistry and physics combined, she said.

Nowacka also talked about a new subject that is to be introduced in schools on September 1, 2025 – health education.

The host of the program, Konrad Piasecki, noticed that he was protesting Ordo Iuris and argues that “if health education is introduced and parents do not want their parents to participate in sex education classes, it will support these parents and possibly defend them in court.”

The minister emphasized that health education includes, among others, mental health support, issues related to diet and exercise. She noted that the program is created together with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport.

– I'm very sorry, but I don't care what hurts Ordo Iuris. I care that a child who goes to school receives comprehensive knowledge about his or her health, she said.

– We are in such a mental health crisis that I don't know how ruthless a person you have to be to incite a child not to participate in an educational process that will give him basic immunity also to mental crises, that will show him how to eat healthily, how use prevention in your everyday life, how to get checked, how to take care of your health – mental, physical, sexual – emphasized Nowacka.

She indicated that the new subject would replace education in family life, but “it covers health issues much more broadly.”

– It will be a mandatory subject regardless of what one or another organization thinks – announced Nowacka.

Nowacka also commented on the issue Smolensk disaster. Her mother, Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, died there.

The minister was asked whether she had ever had the opportunity to have a more honest, open conversation with Antoni Macierewicz about what he had been doing over the last 14 years.

– I had several conversations with Antoni Macierewicz. Two, when I also went to read the materials of his subcommittee. It was an opportunity to talk. I wouldn't say that it was an honest, true and open conversation on his part. It was a sad spectacle, she said.

– I think that many people, especially at the beginning, wanted to believe that maybe there was some good behind it. Especially since she's always standing next to him Jarosław Kaczyńskiwhich was also affected by the disaster. 14.5 years have passed. More and more clearly, everyone, even those close to them, sees that this whole story was based on a lie – said Nowacka.

She noticed that United Right she had full power for eight years. – What did they do? They carried out exhumations against the families' wishes, which resulted in nothing, and Macierewicz falsified and lied to the report because it was not what he wanted. A lot of money was spent on this, lying to many people, she said.

She said that she was very grateful to the Ministry of Defense and the deputy minister Cezary Tomczyk and to the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, that “they showed the truth about the scale of lies committed by Antoni Macierewicz, but also about all the rest of PiS who are behind him today.”

When asked whether she agreed with Radosław Sikorski's words that Macierewicz should be imprisoned, she replied that she was waiting for a debate in which “we will lift the immunity of Antoni Macierewicz.” – I believe he deserved punishment for misusing public money, for fueling the conflict, for lying, for falsifying reports – she said.

– I watched how many people really wanted to believe him. Especially those close to the disaster victims were looking for some explanation. They were looking to see if there was something to it. There was nothing in it. Macierewicz's reports were a lie, a fraud, said Nowacka.

She mentioned that she once received a printout of the commission's report. – I asked him (Macierewicz – ed.) for the signatures of the people who signed it. I received a hot card signed only by Antoni Macierewicz – she said. – It was all a cynical, brazen fraud – she said.