President Duda: opposition intent on ‘inciting social unrest’

“People do not like being in a state of anxiety, so if such an impression arises, it automatically discredits people in power,” Duda told the Gazeta Polska Codziennie daily in an interview published on Tuesday.

Opposition MPs spent Christmas in parliament as part of a sit-in protest amid a political crisis in the country.

Deputies from the Civic Platform and Nowoczesna parties have requested a key vote on next year's budget to be repeated, calling it illegal.

Meanwhile the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party has denied that there were any irregularities in the vote.

The protesting MPs have said that until there is some development in the matter, they will be staging the protest until 11 January, the first day of parliamentary sitting in 2017. They have been in parliament since the budget vote on 16 December.

Top ranking PiS officials have said that they see “no reason” to repeat the vote.

In the interview, President Duda, who is aligned with the PiS party, said that the government has introduced many “pro-social changes”, that can be felt “by average citizens”.

He added that if opposition voices have “no argument that the government is acting against citizens, they stir up unrest. Hence they cry of a ‘threat to democracy’, and the alleged threat to media freedom.”

Duda met the leaders of the four opposition parties in Poland following the disputed vote in mid-December, and announced he would mediate in the matter. (rg)