Poland creates new minister for social integration, specializing in Ukrainian refugees

The Polish authorities has created a brand new minister for social integration whose position will focus specifically on coping with points referring to the big variety of refugees from Ukraine who’ve fled to Poland.

The place has given to Agnieszka Ścigaj from the small Polish Affairs (Polskie Sprawy) parliamentary group, beforehand a part of the opposition, in a transfer seen as meant to bolster the federal government’s slender majority however which additionally prompted one member of her caucus to resign.

“I’ve been invited to assist the federal government combine refugees,” Ścigaj instructed Polsat Information. “My job shall be primarily based on integrating the actions of different ministries. Now we have to start out cooperation between healthcare, training, municipal housing, and administration to assist individuals effectively.”

The brand new minister added that integration is a matter that “must be addressed past Poland’s political divisions”. She additionally talked about that non-governmental organisations and native authorities ought to be concerned within the course of.

Whereas the Polish authorities has gained worldwide reward for its efforts to assist refugees from Ukraine, the home opposition, native authorities and a few NGOs have criticised it for not doing sufficient to comprehensively handle the challenges which have arisen amid the inflow of tens of millions of individuals.

Ścigaj entered parliament in 2015 as an MP for the right-wing anti-establishment Kukiz’15 group. Final 12 months, a number of months after leaving Kukiz’15, she co-founded the centre-right Polish Affairs with fellow MPs Paweł Szramka and Andrzej Sośnierz.

Some opposition figures have criticised Ścigaj for jointing the federal government, saying that the riling national-conservative Legislation and Justice (PiS) occasion has “purchased” the assist of Polish Affairs. She denies this, saying that “PiS doesn’t want our three votes to have a majority”.

Certainly, after the announcement of her new position, Szramka stop the Polish Affairs group in protest. Ścigaj claims that PiS is “merely serious about fixing the issue” of integration and that she is “happy the federal government has lastly began to take a look at the issue in a non-political approach”.

Political scientist Antoni Dudek, nevertheless, says that PiS chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński has allied with Polish Affairs to “construct a lifeline” in case any members of his coalition depart. “Kaczyński is the grandmaster of securing a parliamentary majority,” Dudek instructed RMF FM.

Kaczyński himself this week confirmed that he was leaving the federal government to concentrate on occasion affairs. Yesterday, alongside Ścigaj, two additional new ministers had been appointed: Zbigniew Hoffmann and Wlodzimierz Tomaszewski, who took the place of the minister who just lately resigned over a dispute with a postal employee.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has been the first vacation spot for refugees. It’s estimated that as much as 1.5 million are at present within the nation, the overwhelming majority ladies and youngsters.

The unprecedented inflow of refugees – the biggest such motion of individuals because the Second World Struggle – has created a lot of challenges referring to housing, labour market integration and training.

The federal government initially provided numerous types of monetary help to refugees and to Polish households internet hosting them, however a few of this assist is now being withdrawn. The opposition claims the federal government has left native authorities, NGOs and people to shoulder many of the burden.

Major picture credit score: Mirek Pruchnicki/Flickr (underneath CC BY 2.0)