Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday attacked the “ LGBT ideology ” which he considered “ neo-Bolshevism ”, during an electoral rally ahead of the presidential election on June 28 where he is seeking a second term.
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Coming from the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) in power in Poland and promoted by him, Andrzej Duda, election favorite, brought out this theme which can bring him the support of the powerful Catholic Church and the traditional part of society Polish. “ Throughout the communist era, communist ideology was imposed on children. It was Bolshevism. Today we are trying to instill in them a new ideology, it is a kind of neo-Bolshevism, "he said at a rally in Brzeg, in the south-west of the country, broadcast by televisions. " We are trying to make us believe that these are people when it is simply an ideology, " he insisted.
The day before, a PiS deputy was banned from the studio of the liberal Polish channel TVN24 for having advocated the same opinion.
Andrzej Duda signed a " Family Charter " on Wednesday , pledging to support the traditional Polish family but also to " protect children from LGBT ideology " and prevent its spread " in public institutions ".
The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) cause had already been the hot topic and a major theme of the legislative campaign in October, won by the PiS, in a context of homophobia in this Catholic country. Many Polish territorial entities, often linked to PiS, have already adopted resolutions to declare themselves " free areas of LGBT ideology ".
According to recent polls, President Duda can count on the support of around 40% of the electorate, but the distance which separates him from his main competitor, the centrist mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, seems to be shrinking. Having joined the race after the failure to organize the presidential election within the constitutional deadlines, on May 10, Mr. Trzaskowski gathered in five days nearly two million signatures of support. He is credited with more than 25% of the voting intentions. If in the first round none of the 11 official candidates obtains more than 50% of the votes, the second round between the two remaining candidates will be held on July 12. In this case, the chances of victory could be equal between MM Duda and Trzaskowski, according to polls.