MP Grzegorz Braun to health minister: you will hang

During Thursday's Sejm session devoted to current situation in health service, a Confederation MP Grzegorz Braun took the floor. "God have mercy on us, as long as this section of our state is in the hands of the man sitting on that Sejm bench, rather than in the dock," he said, referring to the Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski.

After a two-minute speech, Braun turned to Niedzielski and said: "You will hang".

Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska (Civic Coalition) immediately reacted to Braun's words. "Sir, please! How can you behave like that in the Sejm? This is an absolute scandal. Sir, this is a huge scandal," she said.

Polish People's Party leader Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz took the floor and said: "We must all protest, all of us here. I disagree with the minister over many issues, he said many foolish things. But I will defend you against such comments. Mr Braun, you should never speak to anyone like that. This was a criminal threat, a truly awful thing," he said.

Kidawa-Błońska called a 5-minute recess. "You have no right to act this way, you have no right use such words. Your case will be examined by the Sejm Presidium. This is a huge scandal," she told Braun.

After the break, the deputy speaker removed Braun from Thursday's session, which was greeted with applaud.

Later on, minister Niedzielski took the floor and first addressed Kosiniak-Kamysz. "Mr chairman, I can't imagine ever addressing you the way you did to me, namely by saying that I said foolish things. I can't imagine holding a public debate - most likely televised, but I'm not sure - in a convention in which adult men, with all due respect, offend each other this way. That's embarrassment number one," he said.

"Embarrassment number two is Mr Braun, whose behaviour was scandalous. I wanted to leave the chamber, but some people here convinced me that I shouldn't lower myself to such standard," he added.

The minister called the Confederation MP's words "unacceptable". "I expect the Sejm Presidium to take firm, strict steps over this issue, because recently we've been nodding that scandalous thing are happening, and yet there's no measurable response to what Mr Braun has done. Removing him from the debate for 15 minutes was not an adequate scandal," he stressed.

He also thanked for "clear-cut attitude". "I wouldn't like us to limit ourselves to just condemning, and not drawing consequences. Either we're assertive, or chiming in," he said.