The leader of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has said that in order to be sovereign, Poland must be strong, listing economic, military and spiritual strength as the chief criteria.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski was speaking on Saturday at a PiS convention held to announce the party’s manifesto policies ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for this autumn.

Kaczynski went on to argue that PiS had not wasted the last eight years in power, but in order not to waste the coming years it must secure electoral victory. He said good politics was „prudent action for the common good” serving both the national community as well as individual citizens, which he said was easy to say but very hard to achieve.

He said the weekend convention was a conclusive moment with 10 panels planned, three of them concerning the economy, five on society and two on political issues. He said the key theme was the concept of patriotism, adding that this meant „attachment to and love for the motherland,” but that this involved being prepared to defend it.

Kaczynski argued the foundation of everything must be national sovereignty.

„The sovereignty and freedom of Poles - this was the trend, the thread, that has run ceaselessly through our history since times long past,” he said.

„For Poland to be sovereign, it must be strong,” Kaczynski continued. „It must be strong economically, i.e. giving a decent level of living to every citizen. It must be strong militarily. And finally, it must be strong spiritually. This is very important. It must be strong morally.” (PAP)

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