Newly appointed parliament speaker delivers his first address to the nation

Poland's newly appointed speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia on Thursday delivered his first televised address to the nation. "Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to your votes and the record turnout on Oct. 15, the Sejm of the 10th Term has the strongest mandate in history. This week, the members of parliament have decided to entrust me with the honorable role of the Sejm speaker. I thank you for the confidence expressed in the vote, which at the same time is a proof of stability of the new majority," he said.

"The Sejm is primarily meant to serve those Poles who do not visit it on a daily basis. It shall be closer to regular, everyday matters. In these few recent days I have made first changes in the Sejm. The barriers, that have been pointlessly separating the parliament from the Polish people, are gone. We are reopening the Sejm to the media," the speaker added.

"We've also decided to extend the presidium of the Sejm so that representatives of all parliamentary clubs could have a seat in it, from The Left to Confederation. Respect for your votes dictates it. For democracy is the rule of the majority, but with respect for the rights of the minority," Szymon Hołownia said.

The new speaker also commented on the process of selecting members of the presidium of the Sejm. "As you know, the Sejm majority voted in favour of five candidates for deputy speakers, and rejected the candidate of Law and Justice (PiS). I'd like reassure the Law and Justice voters that the a seat in the presidium of the Sejm will be waiting for a represntative of your party for as long as it takes. Until the PiS parliamentary club submits a candidate MP that meets with a positive assessment of the work they have done so far from a majority of their colleagues in the Chamber," he explained.

Hołownia declared that "there will be more changes" and assured that those would be "safe changes". "I really hope to open the Sejm to a discussion with people fulfilling important roles for the Poles, regardless of which party they have been appointed by. I want to listen to people whose voice in recent years has not been taken into consideration enough," the speaker added.

"I'd like to thank Prof. Adam Strzembosz for yestersday's discussion on restoration of the rule of law: with respect for the constitution and benefit for the citizens. Tomorrow, I will go and see President Andrzej Duda to reassure him about the necessity of quick creating of a new government that would immediately start solving real issues for the Poles: lowering the cost of living, ensuring security," Hołownia said.

The Sejm speaker spoke more on his next moves. "In the coming days, I will invite the human rights commissioner to discuss participation of regular citizens in Sejm work. I will also thank the head of the National Electoral Commission for holding the election in a capable manner and discuss necessary changes to the Election Code with him. I will pay special attention to the necessity of improving the ballot for Polish men and women living abroad. I also can't wait to meet with you in the Sejm buildings as well as outside, across whole Poland," he stressed.

Ladies and gentlemen, we won't avoid dispute in the coming year. It is a part of our lives and the essence of politics. My aim is simple: I want the quality of debate and the quality of the law established by the Sejm to radically improve. So that in two years you could see the Sejm as an example of culture in mutual relations, and not as its contradiction. So that you don't lose nerves over politics, so that it could finally start giving us all hope that it can be normal," Szymon Hołownia concluded his address.