Polish ministry spokesperson resigns over loan proposal for flood victims

The spokesperson for Poland's climate ministry resigned on Wednesday after the minister made a controversial promise of low-interest loans for flood damage.

Poland was one of the countries affected by the flooding over the weekend, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk declaring a state of natural disaster in the south of the country.

“On the morning of 18 September, I resigned from the spokesman position for the Ministry of Climate and Environment. I would like to thank my team for their work and commitment,” Hubert Różyk, the now-former spokesperson for the Climate Ministry, wrote on X.

The spokesperson gave no reason for the resignation. However, the timing suggests that the decision may have been linked to the minister's controversial proposal on flooding.

The ministry would spend “about 100 million zlotys on low-interest rates (1.5%-2%) loans for repairing the damages made by the flooding,” Climate and Environment Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska (Poland 2050, Renew) said on Monday.

The loans were intended to finance repairs to the sewerage system and damage to sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

This type of aid was heavily criticised as an inappropriate and immoral way to help towns and villages cope with the consequences of the natural disaster.

“Loans for flood victims?! This is a scandal! We need to launch a program based on the Government Fund for Strategic Investments! Immediately!” wrote former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (PiS, ECR) on X, referring to the fund created by his own government during the PiS rule in Poland (2015-2023).

But Hennig-Kloska's proposal was also criticised by her own government. "I don't believe it. I can't imagine offering a loan to people who have lost everything in a national tragedy," deputy parliamentary speaker Piotr Zgorzelski told private broadcaster Radio ZET.

“This proposal is so scandalous and unbelievable that I believe it must have been fake news,” he added.

Tusk also commented on the issue, pointing out that each flood victim is entitled to 200,000 zlotys of aid as a grant.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)