Janusz Palikot
Template:Polish politician infobox Janusz Palikot ([ˈjanuʂ paˈlikɔt], born October 26, 1964 in Biłgoraj) is a controversial and outspoken Polish politician, activist and businessman. He was elected to Sejm twice—on September 25, 2005 getting 26,275 votes in 6 Lublin district, running on the Platforma Obywatelska (PO) list and in 2007 getting 44,186 votes.
Private life
Palikot studied Philosophy at Warsaw University and earned a Masters degree. He is an entrepreneur and co-owner of Commercial Heating Supply SA. Palikot is divorced from his first wife, Maria Nowińska, with whom he has two sons, Emil and Aleksander; he has since married Monika Kubat, with whom he has a son, Franciszek, and a daughter, Zofia.
Controversy
Palikot is known in Poland for being one of its more colourful and controversial characters. In April 2007 during a PO press conference, Palikot wore a t-shirt with "I am from the SLD" ("Jestem z SLD") on the front and "I am gay" ("Jestem gejem") on the back. He later stated that he wanted to highlight the role PO should play in contemporary politics - as defenders of minorities.[1].
A few days later on 24 April 2007, he produced a gun and a dildo at a press conference called to discuss the case of some police officers from Lublin, accused of rape. He explained that the objects were in his opinion modern symbols of law and justice in Poland, as well as representing Lublin's police[2]
On 23 July 2008 Palikot said in an interview "I consider the President to be an oaf" ("Uważam prezydenta za chama"), an illegal act under Poland's anti-defamation laws. The country's chief prosecutor has opened an investigation into the event and Palikot faces up to 3 years in prison.[3]
In January 2009 Palikot caused further controversy when he wrote in his blog questioning whether the Polish President's brother, Jarosław Kaczyński, is gay: "I – unasked – declare unequivocally that I prefer women. And you, Mr Jarosław?"[4] As a result Donald Tusk, the leader of Palikot's party, PO, launched an investigation into his behaviour.
On 5 July 2010, one day after second round of presidential election Palikot announced, that the late president Lech Kaczyński has blood on his hands, blaming Kaczyński for presidential airplane crash.[5]
Chairman of the Extraordinary "Friendly State" Committee for matters relating to the reduction of bureaucracy
Janusz Palikot was appointed Chairman of the Extraordinary "Friendly State" Committee (Przewodniczący Komisji "Przyjazne Państwo") on 11 January, 2008. In the committee's manifesto published on 18 January 2008, Jan Palikot outlines his belief that a politicized state organization constrains the freedom of citizens in Poland. He argues that the number of legal absurdities, and the bureaucratic demands made on almost every Polish citizen, is staggering - under Polish law, for example, even a mushroom is subject to licensing. He believes that administrative despotism, and the omnipotence of the officials issuing decisions based on archaic rules, has generated a multitude of prohibitions and restrictions that stifle entrepreneurship and discourage the Poles from carrying out social and economic activity, ultimately making them hostile so that they ignore the state.
On his blog, Palikot states,
“We need to change it. We want to change! But the war is with the bureaucracy - not just the officials but also the embarrassing machinery of the civil service! - No wins in isolation. The Sejm Extraordinary Commission sees allies in this fight in the citizens, in each of you. Therefore this is our proposal, - let us build together a friendly Sejm by appropriate changes under the law, and by our citizens - through participation in public debate on directions of change.”
Palikot’s proposed actions for reducing bureaucracy in Poland are as follows:
• In the first place, blocking any initiative which prevents people from living and conducting their own farm or business, which he argues constrains initiative absurdly. This provision requires a change, which is redundant with what can be separated without harm to the whole Polish affairs—all of these issues should be decided with the citizens of Poland. The committee will be transparent, swift and effective action in the public interest. It will be a committee to tackle bureaucracy in its worst form. It will be a committee, whose work, Palikot hopes, will allow us all to live in a normal country.
• Palikot, in his Chairman's role, also proposes making profound changes to the rules and procedures unduly hampering economic and civil freedoms, particularly those concerning the relationship between the citizen and the entrepreneur or the various administrations and authorities. The right to a good, efficient administration is treated as an inalienable attribute of a modern state, as well as a fundamental right. This is now understood in the European Union: the right to good administration is the same human right as any other, which is primarily associated with human rights, such as the right to liberty, freedom of action and equality. The right to good administration, under new EU law recently introduced, is today a common standard in Europe and such law is required in Poland.
Publications and books
- Płoną koty w Biłgoraju (autobiografia), 2007, ISBN 978-83-7453-699-8
- Janusz Palikot, Krzysztof Obłój, Myśli o nowoczesnym biznesie, 2003, ISBN 83-89405-26-1
- Poletko Pana P., 2008, ISBN 978-83-7453-861-9
See also
References
External links
- Janusz Palikot on Facebook
- Palikot's blog - in Polish
- Janusz Palikot - parliamentary page - includes declarations of interest, voting record, and transcripts of speeches - in Polish.