Polish government accused of using state funds to campaign for ruling party

Poland’s opposition has launched an audit of government spending on dozens of “family picnics” being organised around the country to promote the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party’s flagship child benefit policy.

They say that the events – at which the public are given free entertainment and food, including one case in which sweets were dropped from a plane – are being used to “illegally” promote PiS’s campaign for this autumn’s parliamentary elections.

In May, PiS announced that its main pledge ahead of the elections was to increase the child benefit programme it introduced in 2016 from 500 zloty (€113) per child per month to 800 zloty (€181). At the start of this month, parliament approved that change.

Even though payments will be automatically increased, the government has announced a series of dozens of “family picnics” around Poland to promote the child-benefit scheme, whose name has been changed from “500+” to “800+”. Those events are paid for with state funds.

😊 Bądźcie z nami na piknikach rodzinnych w całej Polsce 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🇵🇱

💡Dowiedz się więcej o #800plus na https://t.co/09lQ8gWOSv#NoweKonkrety pic.twitter.com/eJokgBGlVX

— Kancelaria Premiera (@PremierRP) July 15, 2023

“This programme [800+] is a symbol of the rule of Law and Justice, which understands one of the fundamental tasks: support for families and the weakest,” said PiS MP Michał Jach at one of the picnics last weekend in Szczecin, quoted by state-owned broadcaster Radio Szczecin.

The events provide entertainment for children – such as bouncy castles, balloon sculptors and face painting – and free food.

At the picnic in the village of Korzenna in southern Poland earlier this month, “children could take advantage of outdoor cinema, illusionist shows, horse rides…and sweets dropped from a plane”, wrote local newspaper Gazeta Krakowska, which is owned by state energy giant Orlen.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who has attended and given speeches at some of the events, said at one in Krotoszyn in western Poland that “at picnics all over Poland we meet with people, in dialogue, because it is Poles who write our programme, Poles are our best experts”.

Piknik Rodzinny „Rodzina 800 Plus” w Krotoszynie z Panem Premierem @MorawieckiM 👶👨‍🦱👩🧒☺️❤️🇵🇱@pisorgpl @MRiPS_GOV_PL @PremierRP pic.twitter.com/v6Z9Dq3q5X

— Jan Mosiński (@MosinskiJan) July 22, 2023

Yesterday, a group of MPs from Civic Coalition (KO), the largest opposition group, announced they were launching a process known as “parliamentary inspection” at the ministry of family and social policy to investigate the spending on the picnics.

The events are clearly intended to “promote [PiS] leader Jarosław Kaczyński and the ruling camp”, said KO MP Marcin Kierwiński. “The authorities are spending public money to increase the chances of winning the elections.”

“This is hidden, illegal financing of PiS’s election campaign. They are organising party rallies with taxpayers’ money,” added his colleague, Arkadiusz Marchewka. Poland has strict rules on how political parties and their election campaigns can be financed.

Pikniki 800+ to:
– nielegalne finansowanie kampanii PiS z publicznych pieniędzy
– bezczelna propaganda robiona na pomocy społecznej
– masowa, polityczna korupcja.
Dlatego dziś byliśmy z poselską kontrolą w Ministerstwie Rodziny i Polityki Społecznej. Dość tego nielegalu!… pic.twitter.com/smrSCp0aoo

— Marcin Kierwiński (@MKierwinski) July 26, 2023

The head of the ministry, Marlena Maląg, however, defended the picnics. “It is important that Poles have full information about the pro-family policy that the government is implementing because it is in our heart,” she told broadcaster Polsat. “This is really the DNA of PiS’s social policy.”

She added that the events include an “information campaign” to “show Poles the entire process for submitting applications” for child benefits. The government has previously proclaimed “how easy” it is to submit such applications.

A deputy finance minister, Piotr Patkowski, also told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily that one of the “tasks of government is to inform [the public] about the laws it has adopted, so that everyone they are addressed to can use them”.

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Main image credit: KPRM (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.