2023-11-13 20:23:53
A first victory for pro-European forces in Poland. This Monday, November 13, one of their leaders, MP Szymon Holownia, was elected president of the lower house of the Polish parliament meeting for the first time since the October elections.
Szymon Holownia is the leader of the Christian Democratic Poland 2050 party, a member of the pro-European opposition which claims the right to form the new government.
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In the first vote, he beat the candidate of the ruling populist-nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, Elzbieta Witek, by 265 votes to 193, in the chamber of 460 deputies. “After this vote, no one can any longer doubt that there is a majority in this Diet (lower house, Editor’s note) ready to take power”he declared to parliamentarians.
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“The Diet will no longer be an office serving the government, it will no longer be a voting machine”, added this 47-year-old former Catholic journalist and television star. He assured that the new parliament would not be “a new arena for a devastating war between Poles”.
A progressive Catholic
According to the constitution, the President of Parliament is considered the second person in the country after the head of state.
Author of several books on religion, Szymon Holownia became known to the general public as co-host of the Polish edition of the television show “Poland has incredible talent”.
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Capitalizing on his celebrity, he made his political debut by entering the 2020 presidential race. Independent and presenting himself as a progressive Catholic, Szymon Holownia came third in the vote. The same year, he launched his Poland 2050 movement.
Known for his charitable work in Africa, Szymon Holownia is also a vegetarian and animal rights activist.
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