Candidates in the June 20 elections are most concerned about the state of the health service, the economy, the EU and Polish-Russian relations, according to a poll of all ten presidential hopefuls.

The questions posed to the presidential hopefuls were selected from a public poll asking Poles at the beginning of May what they felt were the most significant concerns for the country.

The resulting questionnaire was made up of 28 ‘yes/no’ questions for the presidential candidates, and was produced by the TVN24 news channel.

The raised issues to come out of the poll, which was conducted on 10 May, exactly a month after the Smolensk tragedy, concluded that the most pertinent problems facing Poland are: healthcare reform (59 percent of respondents), economic policy (41 percent), the EU (28 percent), and Polish-Russian relations (27 percent).

Other topics raised by the poll’s respondents were terrorism and security, relations with the USA, military spending, as well as access to in vitro fertilisation.

Healthcare reform

All the presidential candidates are against the privatisation of hospitals and are for greater spending in healthcare. The only candidate who opposes spending is Janusz Korwin-Mikke (Freedom and Legitimacy), who wants the total liquidation of a “healthcare system.” The libertarian candidate also wants the privatisation of hospitals as he believes that “private owners take better care of their property.”

Economic reform

Around 50 percent of candidates want Poland to join Europe’s common currency, the euro, albeit with caution. Such an opinion was voiced by the mainstream candidates, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Bronislaw Komorowski, Grzegorz Napieralski, Andrzej Olechowski and Waldemar Pawlak. Others, including Janusz Korwin-Mikke, state that Poland should not join the common currency, and even if the Lisbon Treaty obliges the country to join the euro, he advocates that the date should be set for the year 2222.

In other economic issues, all ten candidates support retirement and pension reform.

European Union

Bronislaw Komorowski is the only candidate who believes that Poland makes full use of its position within the 27-nation bloc, citing Polish politicians who hold high positions within the Union’s structures: Jerzy Buzek, the head of the European Parliament, and Janusz Lewandowski, the current Budget Commissioner.

Other candidates reply that Poland does not benefit from its position. Marek Jurek, the Polish Right candidate, states that “Poland should not just lead an active role in European politics by protesting or agreeing [to a certain policy]: it should propose [its own policies].”

All candidates believe that Turkey and the Ukraine should become members of the European Union, apart from Janusz Korwin-Mikke, who opposes Turkey’s entry “because it isn’t even in Europe,” he says. (jb)

Follow the presidential elections with our dedicated service at thenews.pl/elections

Source: TVN24

Thenews.pl |