PM denies Poland's budgetary disaster

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has rebutted claims that the ruling Law and Justice party has led Poland into a budgetary disaster.

"The 'budgetary catastrophe' of (the ruling party Law and Justice) PiS means an increase in budget revenues by over 100 percent, and this with the reduction of virtually all the most important taxes," Morawiecki wrote on social media on Sunday night.

He added that the cabinet will discuss at its next meeting the pledges made by PiS at its convention over the weekend. The convention announced the party's manifesto policies ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for this autumn.

Among the pledges made over the weekend were promises to increase social welfare programmes, which has prompted some criticism that the government is spending money it does not have.

PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced during the event an increase of the current 500+ childcare benefit to PLN 800 (EUR 176), free prescription medicines from the age of 65 and free medicines for children and adolescents up to 18 years of age.