PiS demands end to 'Poland A' and 'Poland B' division

“Poland is one, there should be no division into 'Poland A' and 'Poland B',” PiS’s candidate for Prime Minister told a press conference.

"In my opinion, there is no Poland A, no Poland B. Every place in this country has to have the same opportunities and the same prospects. Regardless of whether you live in a big city or in a small village you should have the same chance of getting a job, a decent wage, thinking about the future and safety of your family, access to a doctor or school," Szydło said.

The term arose in recent years to describe the apparent split between urban and rural and younger and older voters, the former in both cases tending to vote for the governing Civic Platform (PO) and the latter for PiS. Traditionally the term 'Poland B' has referred to poorer rural regions in the eastern parts of Poland.

"The policies of the PO and PSL government for small towns are simply poor," Szydło continued.

PO trails PiS by about 10 percent in the polls before elections in October. Various polls indicate that Poles are increasingly concerned with social issues, an area that critics believe PO has neglected at the expense of a growth-based political agenda in its eight years in office.

Szydło pointed to the dwindling infrastructure such as railway stations as well as schools. “Residents are leaving for big cities or abroad, because they have no prospects. This is a wrong policy," she added.

Szydło held a press conference at a closed down railway station in the village of Kłobuck.

"Cancelled bus connections, waiting rooms, emergency centres, closed schools, medical clinics - all the things people need every day," she said.

"I want to say today to the Prime Minister that life goes on not only in trains, takes place also in places where trains do not reach," the PiS candidate for prime minister said. Szydło was referring to the fact that Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz travels by train on her campaign trail. (jh/rk)