Speech by the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia

Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia delivered a speech on Thursday. – Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to your votes and record turnout on October 15, the Sejm of the 10th term has the strongest mandate in history. This week, MPs decided to entrust me with the honorable role of Speaker of the Sejm. Thank you for your trust in the vote, which is also proof of the stability of the new majority, he began.

– The Sejm is primarily intended to serve those Poles who do not attend it on a daily basis. It will be closer to ordinary, everyday matters. During these few days, I have already introduced the first changes in the Sejm. The barriers that have unnecessarily separated the parliament from Poles for seven years have disappeared. We are opening the Sejm to the media again – continued the Marshal.

– We also decided to expand the presidium of the Sejm so that representatives of all parliamentary clubs, from the Left to the Confederation, could sit in it. Respect for your votes requires this. Because democracy means rule by the majority, respecting the rights of minorities, said Szymon Hołownia.

Hołownia referred to Sejm votes on the election of the Presidium of the Sejm. – As you know, the parliamentary majority voted for five candidates for deputy marshals and rejected the candidate of Law and Justice. I would like to assure the voters of Law and Justice that a seat in the Sejm presidium will be waiting for a representative of your party for as long as necessary. As long as the parliamentary club PIS will nominate a member of parliament or MP who will receive a positive assessment of her work to date by the majority of colleagues from the Chamber, he said.

As he declared, “there will be more changes, but I want to assure you: these will be safe changes.” – I really want to open the Sejm to talk with people who perform important functions for Poles, regardless of which party they were appointed by. I want to listen to people whose voices have not been taken into account sufficiently in recent years – added the Marshal.

– I would like to thank Professor Adam Strzembosz for yesterday’s conversation about repairing the rule of law: with respect for the constitution and for the benefit of citizens. Tomorrow I will go to the president Andrzej Dudato assure him of the need to quickly create a government that will immediately deal with solving the real issues of Poles: reducing the cost of living, ensuring security – said Szymon Hołownia.

The Marshal of the Sejm also talked about his next plans. – In the coming days, I will invite the Ombudsman to a meeting, with whom I will talk about the participation of ordinary citizens in the work of the Sejm. I would also like to thank the chairman of the National Electoral Commission for the efficient conduct elections and I will discuss with him the necessary changes to the Electoral Code. I will pay special attention to the need to improve the voting of Polish women and men living abroad. I also look forward to meeting you in the Sejm buildings and beyond, throughout Poland, he emphasized.

– Ladies and gentlemen, we will certainly not avoid disputes in the coming years. He is part of everyone’s life, and the essence of politics. My goal is simple: I want the quality of the debate and the quality of the law made by the Sejm to increase dramatically. And that in two years’ time you will look at the Polish Sejm as a model of the culture of mutual relations, and not as its negation. So that you don’t waste your nerves on politics, so that it will finally start giving us all hope that things can be normal – concluded the Marshal of the Sejm.