President trumpets government achievements in New Year’s Eve address

Polish president Andrzej Duda played down the recent Constitutional Tribunal and Parliamentary crises in Poland, stating in an annual state-of-the union address that he was pleased with the government’s achievements during 2016, However, he did imply that improved dialog would be needed to overcome existing tensions. Apparently referring to the continuing sit-in the Lower House of the Parliament that has convened in protest against the secretive budget bill vote by the ruling PiS party, he said “Poles should conduct civilized dialog, and respect the rules of democracy.” He also said, “we should not allow ourselves to get carried away with emotions.” Duda praised the social policy initiatives of the government, indicating that the raising of the minimum wage, the introduction of free medicine for the elderly and the lowering of the retirement age, among other things, added to “a feeling of dignity and belief that governments can be fairer.” On Sunday, Duda wrote to the Turkish Prime Minister to express his sympathy, on behalf of Poland, to those who lost loved ones in the Reina Nightclub shooting on Sunday morning at which 39 people were killed in Istanbul and dozens of others were injured. “We share the grief of the families of the victims,” he wrote.