Constidtutional considerations

On Tuesday The Warsaw Voice published this:

Government and Opposition Parties Argue Over Constitution Changes, January 19, 2010
Poland's leading party PO refuses to consider constitution changes suggested by the main opposition party PiS, which includes strengthening the position of the President, the daily Rzeczpospolita writes.

PiS proposal is being criticized by PO as "a return to a state system where the constitution confirms the centralized and ideological character of the state with the President in the role of the First Secretary", PO parliamentary club spokesperson Andrzej Halicki said.
PiS in turn blames PO for lack of constructive collaboration for the common good and failure to present own project.

Well as if in answer to the lack of a PO proposal, on the following day The Warsaw Voice published this:

Polish PM Proposes Weakening of Presidential Veto, January 20, 2010PM Donald Tusk proposes dampening of presidential veto, according to theses send by the PM's chancellery to the parliamentary Speaker, the daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna writes.

Tusk wants the presidential veto to be rejected with an absolute majority and not with three-fifth majority, as it is the case at present.
The PM also wants to make an unambiguous provision that it is the PM who is responsible for foreign policy.

Personally I would go with a simple majority rather than an absolute, as the difference between 3/5 (60%) and absolute (51%) is hardly worth the trouble of changing. An absolute majority takes in to account all parliamentarians; even those not present. Whereas the simple just takes into account the ones who can be bothered to turn up and vote (var more sensible).

These two articles illustrate well the chasm that exists between the two sides. They have fundamentally opposing views, which does not bode well for cooperation.

I am of course in favour of the PO option. Being British I am not used to a division of powers between a PM and President. In theory the Queen can veto (refuse to enact) any law in the UK. She can also simply sack the PM and rule directly. For that matter she could install her butler as PM. Luckily she doesn't do any of these things and we seem to get along quite happily. The last occasion she used such powers was appointment of Harold Wilson as Prime Minister in February 1974; following political chaos. The last monarch to veto legislation was Queen Anne, who withheld assent from the Scottish Militia Bill 1708.

Therefore, please could the President simply open Supermarkets and Hospitals, Present hours and medals and have dinner with distinguished visitors?

Rydzyk and PiS - the twilight years!

To many used to recent Polish politics, the close connection between church and party will not come as a surprise. However, recent developments have seriously questioned the understanding of Jesus’s teachings. It has become public knowledge that Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, the self styled leader of Radio Marya has laid out an ultimatum to PiS with regards to the currently debated Lisbon Treaty. F. Rydzyk has proclaimed that if PiS do not stop the treaty from being ratified by the Polish parliament, then he will withdraw his support from the party. This means in effect all the listeners to Radio Marya who amount to the majority of votes PiS hold. This would in effect cripple PiS in any future elections.

The boundries between church and politics clearly seem to have been croosed by this recent move. While I grant that such matters as abortion law have an ethical and therefore religious aspect, the Treaty of Lisbon has a purely political dimension and as such is not part of the Church’s remit. This interfering by F. Rydzyk seems to contradict one of Jesus’s teachings where Jesus states: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.”

This statement by Jesus has become the cornerstone of European secularism and the separation of Church and State. F. Rydzyk seems to show either a profound ignorance of the bible (which would be strange coming form a monk) or perhaps a more sinister ability to pick and choose the bible’s teachings to fit his personal plans. Either way Poland needs to resist the ever present grip of F. Rydzyk and his ilk.

Murder of the innocents

Its amazing what a bit of motivation can do. With only 8% of the popular vote, many .people would resigne themselves to the sidelines and become a critic of, but not participant in the political process. But not our boy Giertich!! Given a mandate by PIS, nothing can stop him in his far reaching reforms. As if limiting the information avaliable to the next generatiion was not enough, he is now attacking the moral idependence of education, by using the cirriculum as a vehicle for his owm political and or religeous beliefs.

A Cristian Europe versus An Open Europe

President Kaczynski - Christianity is the EU foundation

Poland's President Lech Kaczynski, in an article for the tabloid 'Fakt' that: 'The Union cannot build its future with no reference to the centuries old history of Europe and European roots. This is why it is so difficult for us to accept opposition to a reference to Christian values in the preamble to the future Constitutional Treaty.'

The Berlin Declaration is to be signed in the capital city of Germany, as part of events marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and the birth of the EU.

The declaration is to play a key role in drafting the preamble to the bloc's new Constitutional Treaty.

President Kaczynski said that the Union must continue to expand.

"For Poland it is obvious that the European Union, if it wants to retain its dynamics and to count on a global scale – it must be an open union".

On behalf of the bloc's 27 member states, the Berlin Declaration will be signed tomorrow by the German Chancellor, the European Parliament and the European Commission leaders.

Poland's foreign minister Anna Fotyga is on leave and will not take part in the ceremony.

Above taken from www.poland.pl

Are the two points raised by the President of Poland not a little conflicting? If we make Cristianity a fundamental part of the Constitution, then to which countries are we supposed to expand. Is it a good message to send to Turkey, Bosnia and Albania, that yes you can come in, but please remember that we are Christian and we were here first!

Religion, is and has always been a private matter. Jesus himself made this crystal clear when remarking that what is ceasar, render unto ceasar and what is God's render under God.

This mix of politics and religion is the most frightening aspect of the current PiS government in Poland.