PiS courts Confederation with the Polish Declaration, but Mentzen replies: „we’re not interested in socialist nonsense”.
What the PiS Polish Declaration contains
PiS has presented ten points meant to build a „sovereigntist bloc”. The last of them reads: „housing as a right, not a commodity” – a promise of cheaper flats through anti-developer policy.
Key demands (selected)
No to a coalition with Donald Tusk
Yes to a strategic alliance with the USA
No to the euro, yes to the złoty
Housing as a right, not a commodity
Confederation: no socialist nonsense
Sławomir Mentzen argued that today it is PiS that needs Confederation. He declared that any coalition conditions they set would rule out the demand „housing as a right, not a commodity”, which he calls a „leftist copy”.
Presenting the Polish Declaration, Jarosław Kaczyński failed to notice that the political situation has changed. It is PiS that needs Confederation, not Confederation that needs PiS. At the appropriate time we will present our conditions to potential partners, and they will certainly contain no socialist nonsense such as: housing as a right, not a commodity – Sławomir Mentzen
Przedstawiając Deklarację Polską, Jarosław Kaczyński nie zauważył, że sytuacja polityczna się zmieniła. To PiS potrzebuje Konfederacji, a nie Konfederacja PiSu.
W stosownym czasie to my przedstawimy potencjalnym partnerom nasze warunki, w których na pewno nie będzie żadnych…
Housing savings accounts instead of state-funded construction
Releasing land and abolishing some taxes to increase the supply of flats
Political context
PiS is seeking an ally to push through its programme and to take anti-immigration and Eurosceptic arguments away from the opposition.
Confederation, polling in double digits, prefers to dictate terms and keeps its distance from Mr Kaczyński’s proposal.
The slogan „housing as a right, not a commodity” has so far been associated with the Left, which makes it harder for Confederation to back it, as its electorate is economically liberal.
What it means for the housing market
If the PiS version wins – a larger role for the state, subsidies and price caps are possible.
If Confederation gets its way – deregulation, lower taxes and opening the capital market to housing savings.
In both scenarios, political pressure for lower prices will persist, but the tools will be radically different.
The dispute over „housing as a right, not a commodity” has become a test of strength for both parties. For PiS it is a nod to young voters struggling with high flat prices. For Confederation it is a red line, crossing which would mean abandoning its free-market identity.
