Poland’s nationalist government will put a question about selling public assets to voters in October, evoking a politically charged issue as the ruling Law & Justice party accuses the opposition of aiming to privatize state companies.
The referendum will take place alongside the general election on Oct. 15, in which Law & Justice risks losing its grip on power.
While it’s maintained a lead in polls, Law & Justice has struggled to gain traction among voters outside of its base — and appears poised to fall well short of a parliamentary majority.
The party’s powerful leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, took up the privatization theme in a political attack against opposition leader Donald Tusk, fusing the issue with Germany — long a favorite target of the conservative party.
“The Germans want to put Donald Tusk in power to sell our public assets,” Kaczynski said in a Facebook post on Friday.
Kaczynski in June announced plans to hold a referendum on the European Union’s migrant relocation plan as he returned to an active role in the government in a bid to tighten his grip over the campaign.
