This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
Politicians from the Confederation (Konfederacja) are dissatisfied with the current course of legal simplification. They want deregulation to be carried out systematically, at an institutional level, with those responsible for regulation held accountable for the rules they introduce. They are also setting conditions for potential coalition partners.
Explainer
Konfederacja
Konfederacja (full name: Confederation Liberty and Independence) is a radical‑right alliance in Poland that mixes libertarian economics with hardline national‑conservative and often Eurosceptic, anti‑“woke” positions.
It brings together several small groups and personalities rather than a single unified party, including free‑market liberals who want low taxes and a much smaller state, Catholic traditionalists opposed to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, and nationalist circles sceptical of the EU, migration and Western “cultural influence”.
In practice, Konfederacja presents itself as an anti‑system protest option: it attacks both Law and Justice (PiS) and the liberal opposition as part of the same corrupt establishment, speaks the language of “freedom” and “sovereignty”, and targets especially young men with a mix of edgy social‑media messaging, tax‑cut promises and culture‑war themes.
Since February 2025, a deregulation process has been underway in which the government, in cooperation with entrepreneurs grouped around the “SprawdzaMY” initiative, has been introducing simplifications. These measures cover both the functioning of public administration and the legal framework governing business activity.
In the first 12 months, more than 350 proposals were accepted for implementation, and over 120 have already entered into force. The government has moved to a second phase of deregulation. Maciej Berek, the minister coordinating the implementation of government policy, announced that the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology is to prepare two to three deregulation packages annually, each containing a dozen or so regulatory changes.
You can read more about the SprawdzaMy initiative here.
Confederation calls for radical deregulation
The current pace of deregulation, however, does not satisfy the opposition. The Confederation wants to go further. Last week, its politicians organized a deregulation panel in Gdańsk as part of “Project 27.” This is an online platform through which the Confederation collects policy proposals from its supporters for its program ahead of next year’s elections.
The deregulation portfolio is coordinated by MP Przemysław Wipler. In addition to him, the panel included lawyers Marcin Ostaszewski and Paweł Szut, who cooperate with Wipler within the Good Government Foundation, chaired by Wipler, as well as Piotr Palutkiewicz, president of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute.
Deregulation: internal differences within the Confederation
At the very start of the meeting, Przemysław Wipler stated that the Confederation supports radical deregulation. He nevertheless drew a distinction between the New Hope party, led by Sławomir Mentzen, and the National Movement, led by Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Krzysztof Bosak.
“If there is one thing that consistently differentiates us from other political parties – and even differentiates New Hope from our partners within the Confederation – it is our extremely robust deregulation approach. And what is deregulation? It is the reduction of administrative and bureaucratic burdens, the reduction of the influence of politicians and officials over our lives. It concerns not only entrepreneurs, but also citizens and consumers. We must carry out radical and far-reaching deregulation in a way that no one has done before,” said MP Przemysław Wipler, opening the panel.
The observations presented during the panel reflected a broader critique of regulation across multiple sectors. These included issues related to labor law, such as regulations concerning office furniture, as well as construction law, including rules governing the distance between buildings and cemeteries. Calls were also made for liberalizing access to firearms, abolishing or restructuring the so-called “alcohol disability payment,” and abolishing the capital gains tax (the “Belka tax” - named after Marek Belka, finance minister who had it introduced - ed.).
Explainer
Alcohol disability payment
In Polish media and everyday speech, “renta alkoholowa” (“alcohol disability payment”) is a catchy but misleading nickname for a standard disability benefit paid by Social Security Institution (ZUS) to people who have become partially or completely unable to work because of serious illnesses caused by long‑term alcohol abuse, such as liver disease or chronic pancreatitis.
Despite the slang term, there is no special, separate benefit in Polish law that you “get for drinking”. Legally it is simply a disability pension, granted under the same rules as for any other illness: you must be officially certified as unable to work, have the required years of social‑insurance contributions, and show that the disability arose while you were insured or shortly afterwards.
The controversy comes from the optics: tabloid headlines suggest the state “pays alcoholics to drink”, while critics are angry that this disability payment can be similar in amount to a minimum old‑age or farmers’ pension. They see it as unfair to those who worked sober for decades.
Mr. Mentzen: political will is what is needed
Closing the panel, Sławomir Mentzen recalled a meeting with Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (Deputy Prime Minister) during last year’s “Beer with Mentzen” tour. He said he reminded the Deputy Prime Minister of the period when he served as Minister of Labor in Donald Tusk’s previous government. At the time, Mr. Mentzen reportedly asked him about labor law provisions concerning office space requirements.
“I tried to get from him a justification for why this is the case. He was unable to provide one. He did not feel responsible for the fact that he had been Minister of Labor, overseeing labor law, and had done nothing about it,” Mr. Mentzen said.
He went on to raise the issue of political responsibility for regulation. In his view, every regulation should have its own “owner.” Today, he argued, politicians do not feel any responsibility for the rules that restrict everyday life.
“I agree with the diagnosis that what is needed is political will. The solutions are known; we have been talking about them for years. We have had governments from PO (civic coalition) and PiS (Law and Justice) for 21 years, and each of these major parties, along with their coalition partners, has shown that they do not want to do anything about it. One of the new ideas I heard at the panel is the expiration date for laws,” Sławomir Mentzen said.
Political responsibility for regulation
Several proposals stood out during the panel that the New Hope party may seek to incorporate into the Confederation’s program for next year’s parliamentary elections.
One of the key ideas – also emphasized by Sławomir Mentzen – is political accountability for legislation. In practice, this would mean creating a public registry allowing citizens to check which deputy minister or official is responsible for a given regulation. Rules would also be “inherited” by successors holding the same office.
Confederation politicians want administrative deregulation to take place at the government level. They are already setting conditions for potential coalition partners.
“We want the post-election government, in which the Confederation will participate, to have a single coordinating minister for large-scale systemic deregulation. In every ministry there would be a deputy minister or plenipotentiary for deregulation, tasked with identifying regulations to be abolished and justifying the retention of those not selected for removal. This would be a team of basketball players throwing regulations into the basket. Each such person would have to map out, within a year, the rules to be scrapped,” MP Przemysław Wipler said in an interview with XYZ.
After the deregulation panel, the politician also acknowledged that a threshold proposal would be the abolition of the mandatory deposit return system.
This is not the first time the Confederation has sought to set conditions for potential coalition partners with whom it could form a government after next year’s elections. In March, on the “XYZ Politics” program, MP Wipler announced that if the Confederation were to influence the formation of the next government, it would push for transparency in military procurement. The statement came in the context of the party’s opposition to the bill implementing the SAFE program.
The deregulation panel also featured calls for the abolition of specific institutions. Confederation politicians would like to eliminate labor offices, Voluntary Labor Corps (OHP), and counties (powiaty). Their responsibilities would be transferred either to municipalities or regional governments.
Explainer
Powiat and OHP
Powiat is the middle tier of local government: bigger than a municipality but smaller than a region, a bit like a county that groups several communes together so they can jointly run things that would be too costly or complex for a single town, such as secondary schools, certain hospitals and local roads.
Ochotnicze Hufce Pracy (OHP, literally “Voluntary Labor Corps”) is a nationwide, state‑run youth service that supports teenagers and young adults who are at risk of dropping out of school or the labor market, offering them basic education, vocational training and help finding work, often in boarding‑type centers. The name still sounds slightly militaristic because of its socialist‑era origins, but today OHP functions more like a social‑work and job‑placement network focused on disadvantaged youth than anything resembling an army unit or conscription scheme.
Autumn to bring further parts of the program
In the coming months, the Confederation is set to present additional proposals for its program ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. In the autumn, its politicians are expected to unveil, among other things, proposals concerning energy policy, environmental protection and waste management, as well as the judiciary and the justice system.
The Confederation’s polling has remained at a double-digit level for months. In a recent CBOS survey, the party led by Mr. Mentzen and Mr. Bosak recorded support of 15.3%. With such a result in next year’s elections, the Confederation could potentially take part in governing.
Relations between the Confederation and larger players – Civic Coalition (KO) and Law and Justice (PiS) – are frequently tense. At times, however, statements suggesting possible post-election cooperation do appear, more often from Law and Justice than from the Civic Coalition.
Key Takeaways
- Przemysław Wipler acknowledges that there are differences within the Confederation on deregulation: New Hope takes a more radical approach than the National Movement. The politician states that if the next government depends on the Confederation after the upcoming elections, the party will set several conditions. These include appointing a minister coordinating deregulation across ministries, as well as abolishing the mandatory deposit return system.
- The Confederation is calling for systemic deregulation at the government level. According to its politicians, only such a framework can make deregulation effective. They are also advocating political accountability for newly introduced regulations. In addition, they propose that each ministry should include a deputy minister responsible for identifying regulations to be abolished.
- During the deregulation panel, Confederation politicians called for the abolition of district and regional labor offices, as well as the Voluntary Labor Corps (OHP). They also want to eliminate counties (powiaty) altogether, transferring their responsibilities to municipalities and regional self-government authorities.