Anton Ambroziak, OKO.press: The civil partnerships bill has entered interministerial and public consultations, causing further political turmoil. Your coalition partners from the Polish People’s Party (PSL) are repeating that they will not support the bill, claiming it is “marriage-like,” that it wasn’t agreed upon within the coalition, that PSL never promised civil partnerships during the campaign, that they have their own program and electorate, and, in any case, it’s not a government bill even though it came from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Katarzyna Kotula, Minister for Equality, member of the Nowa Lewica:

First of all, this is a government bill, as confirmed by three key figures: Minister Joanna Knapińska from the Government Legislation Centre, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office Jan Grabiec, and Minister Maciej Berek, chair of the Permanent Committee of the Council of Ministers. It’s not as if on Friday, October 18, 2024, I suddenly introduced a new bill, and my colleagues from PSL should be surprised. The bill was included in the legislative agenda of the Council of Ministers on July 8, following months of preliminary negotiations. So, there is no doubt that this is a government bill. Whether it will receive full government approval or whether there will be dissenting opinions is a secondary matter.

However, it is not true that we have competing legislative initiatives from MPs: I from the Left have my bill, and PSL will have theirs.

Secondly, during the election campaign, the Third Way coalition, including PSL, repeatedly expressed support for the civil partnerships bill. Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz proudly shared on social media an excerpt from an interview with his wife, who stated that her generation doesn’t understand the dispute over civil partnerships and that the state should make life easier for citizens, not more difficult. Words of support from the leader of PSL were also voiced during the Campus Polska event.

Thirdly, although the coalition agreement does not specifically mention the civil partnerships bill—which I have already acknowledged as a mistake—it does include point seven, which explicitly refers to non-discrimination on various grounds, including sexual orientation. In my view, the government’s civil partnerships bill, especially in light of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, is a realization of the seventh point of our compromise agreement.

What about PSL’s objection that this is a large and progressive bill, not very different from marriage, and that it amends 250 other laws?

That’s absurd; our bill is very conservative. As the Left, we took three steps back. First, when we openly advocated for marriage equality for years. On a side note, introducing it would be much simpler, as it would only require amending one law. But we stepped back and said, okay, maybe it’s worth first working together on a civil partnerships bill. Then we gave up the civil registry ceremony and the adoption of children, including second-parent adoption. I believe we have fully upheld our commitment to dialogue and seeking consensus, regardless of ideological differences.

It is also untrue that the entire PSL is against the bill. We know that MP Agnieszka Kłopotek and a few others will vote with us for the bill in its current form.

A few, meaning how many?

As of today, perhaps 3-4, but when a bill generates such intense emotions, you have to seek a majority until the very end, sometimes in unexpected places.

What about these emotions? PSL claims they don’t want to inflame social tensions, which is why they are preparing their own milder solutions

Our bill doesn’t inflame social tensions; it eases them. If my colleagues would look at the materials we’ve prepared, they would clearly see that we’re proposing legislation similar to the French model. There, after the introduction of civil partnerships, 95% of registered partnerships were heterosexual couples. What’s controversial about that?

I also don’t understand why ensuring basic security for same-sex couples should stir up negative emotions. Either we believe that all citizens are equal under the law, or we have a very serious problem. Because as politicians who came to power with slogans about the rule of law and protecting democracy, we are simultaneously agreeing to discrimination—denying some citizens the right to social security, barring them from civil registry offices, and ignoring the safety of their children.

It’s hard to argue with PSL politicians, as they seem blinded by emotions.

All social research shows that Poles have been ready for civil partnerships for a long time. The facts are that support for the bill is enormous across the electorates of all ruling coalition parties. It’s really hard to argue against that.

What’s your strategy for the coming days and weeks?

I’ve heard that some deputy ministers and MPs from PSL still haven’t read the bill.

For example, Ireneusz Raś said on TOK FM on Wednesday, October 23, that he knows the general assumptions but hasn’t had the chance to familiarize himself with the publicly available draft. That didn’t stop him from opposing it.

Therefore, I recommend reading the bill. We are all adults, and if we take our parliamentary and ministerial duties seriously, we should probably read something, think it over, consult with our caucus, and only then speak publicly.

This isn’t about our private morality; this is about legislating for citizens who need it.

Has PSL ever met with the LGBT community, which currently has no option to register a civil partnership? Have they listened to the needs of heterosexual couples who, as statistics show, don’t want to marry but might like other forms of legal security? Have they heard the stories of blended families or divorced people who form joint households but pay taxes separately?

Deputy Minister Raś mentioned that PSL’s bill, which no one has seen yet, will address the demands of “groups from two or three years ago” by ensuring the right to inheritance and medical information.

Now my blood pressure is rising. With all due respect, has PSL ever met with this community, or are they making things up? I’ve met with the LGBT community many times. I listened to their voices but also honestly told them that some solutions wouldn’t find a majority in this term, so we might have to give up certain provisions.

We worked for a long time in the Prime Minister’s Office on the civil partnerships bill because we wanted to adapt the law to the existing social reality. And all the while, our guiding principle was: security for all citizens.

Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz often talks about state security and military security, but there’s also the everyday security of Polish families. That’s what our very conservative bill is about. Many more conservative countries, such as Hungary or Greece, have already taken this same path.

How will you convince Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz to support the bill? Now public consultations are underway, but in three weeks, you’ll have to sit down again for coalition negotiations and make some decisions.

I’m ready to talk at every stage, but I think now is the time to read the bill. Dear colleagues, I appeal to you: read the draft with understanding, and I will be happy to answer any of your questions. We can disagree, we can talk, but we can’t close our eyes to the social changes that have taken place in our country. In the spring, we agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz that it’s worth working toward formalizing relationships. I hope we still share that common ground, that we respect citizens, and that we don’t want to be a government that discriminates against certain social groups.

PSL keeps insisting that partnerships shouldn’t be registered at the civil registry office but through a notary, who would then submit the papers to the office. How does that sound? Does PSL have a problem with LGBT people being present in public institutions? Dear colleagues, LGBT people are already there—in the civil registry office, collecting death certificates for family members. They attend weddings of couples who choose to marry. This isn’t some external group outside of Polish society.

You’re speaking from a pragmatic, human level…

And it pains me to say that, despite everything, I’ve prepared a conservative, technical bill.

But PSL seems driven by political gain: they’re trying to position themselves as the most conservative wing of the ruling coalition, perhaps aiming for votes from the right.

Building a political career and making policy on the suffering and harm of others is not a good idea. We all know the stories you’ve written about—what happens in same-sex couples when one partner dies. These are unimaginable tragedies that could happen to any of us. Leaving people in legal limbo seems cruel.

I also don’t understand why a conservative party isn’t fighting for the formalization of relationships and the safety of families. In 2023, only 146,000 marriages were registered in Poland, the second-lowest postwar number. Add divorces, and the total number of existing marriages is declining. Maybe some people would first want to enter a civil partnership and, after some time, decide on marriage? PSL doesn’t see any political opportunities in this, which I think is a strategic mistake.

Perhaps Prime Minister Donald Tusk should enter the discussion? It seems the arguments from PSL have nothing to do with reality, only political calculations.

I received support from the Prime Minister when he clearly stated that the civil partnerships bill should be a government bill.

But a prime minister with such strong political influence could do much more if he wanted to.

But that’s a question for the Prime Minister, not for me.

This article by Anton Ambroziak was published on OKO.press on October 23, 2024.