Prospective Polish opposition leader wants rapprochement with Church
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
14.01.2016 12:02
Grzegorz Schetyna, the likely future leader of the opposition Civic Platform, which was crushed in October's elections, has said the party should rebuild ties with the Roman Catholic Church.
Grzegorz Schetyna. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
“We must return to dialogue with the Church,” Schetyna told the TVN station.
He argued that this would not be a matter of political pragmatism for the party, but of a “return to the source.”
In the lead-up to the 25 October general election, leading Civic Platform figures had emphasised the party's secular image, in contrast to the religious rhetoric of Law and Justice, which ultimately won the election.
Former prime minister Ewa Kopacz had said that she did not want to live in “a religious state.”
Civic Platform's support for state funding of IVF, a policy due to be reversed by Law and Justice, also brought it into conflict with the Church.
Former foreign minister Schetyna is the only remaining candidate in the election for a new leader of Civic Platform. Voting finished on 7 January, and the new leader will be formally announced on 24 January.
A recent study indicated that 40 percent of Poles go to mass. (nh/pk)