Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party gains majority

The right-wing and anti-migrant Law and Justice party has won a majority of seats in Poland’s parliament and can govern alone, the state election authority announced yesterday.

The party, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, got 235 seats in the 460-seat lower house of Poland’s parliament and also won a majority in the Senate, the strongest position any single party has ever enjoyed in post-communist Poland.

For Law and Justice, which also has the backing of President Andrzej Duda, that means advocating a combination of Catholic conservative moral policies and planning more state intervention in the economy to help families and the poor.

For example, it promised monthly cash bonuses for children and free medications for people over 75.

It also took a strong anti-migrant stand, criticising the outgoing ruling party, Civic Platform, for agreeing to accept some 7,000 refugees as part of a European Union resettlement plan.

Mr Kaczynski, 66, did not go forward as a candidate for prime minister, instead nominating Beata Szydlo, a miner’s daughter seen as being more moderate.

The party promises to reverse the outgoing government’s rise of the retirement age to 67 years, which was deeply unpopular. It has said it would reverse it to 60 years for women and 65 for men.

It has also vowed to put higher taxes on large corporations and banks.