Poland’s ruling party promised to raise payouts for families with children and ramp up other handouts in the first major announcement of its campaign to win an unprecedented third term in power.
(Bloomberg) — Poland’s ruling party promised to raise payouts for families with children and ramp up other handouts in the first major announcement of its campaign to win an unprecedented third term in power.
Law & Justice Chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced on Sunday plans to raise the flagship benefit to 800 zloty ($192) per month per child, from 500 zloty. The pledge comes as his party is in a tight race to win an unprecedented third term in parliamentary elections due around October.
In presenting the proposal, Law & Justice is dusting off a tried-and-true playbook of boosting social spending, a maneuver that helped it gain power in 2015, as opinion polls show the party struggling to win re-election.
Poland’s opposition has bashed the government over a cost-of-living crisis, allegations of graft, and its conflict with the European Union. Poland can’t access €35 billion ($37.9 billion) in post-pandemic aid due to EU concerns over an erosion of its democracy.
Kaczynski didn’t specify the costs of the bigger child-support initiative, which would kick off next year, or how it would be funded. Poland’s budget deficit is set to swell to 4.9% of gross domestic product this year from 1.8% in 2021, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
Kaczynski also announced plans to make medicine free for seniors and children, and to get eradicate tolls for passenger cars traveling on Polish highways.
It’s not the first round of budget handouts announced by the government this year. For the third year running, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced that retirees will receive two bonus pension payouts. The government is also likely to keep VAT charge on food at zero until the end of 2023 or longer in an attempt to lower inflation, which spiked to a two-decade high.
–With assistance from Piotr Skolimowski and Natalia Ojewska.
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