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Sławomir Mentzen
Sławomir Jerzy Mentzen (born 20 November 1986) is a Polish right-wing libertarian politician,[1] entrepreneur, and tax advisor. He serves as the chairman of the New Hope party and as one of the leaders of the Confederation Liberty and Independence.[2][3] Early life and educationMentzen was born in Toruń, Poland. He graduated with a Licentiate in Theoretical Physics and a PhD in Economics at the Nicolaus Copernicus University. His doctoral thesis, which he defended in 2015, concerned the issue of public debt.[4] Business careerHe runs several accounting offices and owns a tax consultancy office as well as a hunting shop and a craft brewery.[5] He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Toruń and the National Chamber of Tax Advisors.[6] Political career
Mentzen began his political career in 2007 by joining the Real Politics Union (UPR), serving for two years as the president of the party's branch in Toruń before suspending his activities within the party. He decided to re-enter politics after the success of Paweł Kukiz in 2015, as he tried to get on the electoral lists of the Kukiz'15 party. In 2017, Mentzen was elected vice chairman of Janusz Korwin-Mikke's New Hope party, at the time still called KORWiN. He had already held important functions in the party's structures, as he was the president of the Toruń district and the chairman of the party's scientific council. In the 2018 local elections, he ran for president of Toruń. He came in fifth place with 3.94% of the votes. In October 2022, he became the new chairman of the New Hope party after Korwin-Mikke stepped down. In the parliamentary elections in 2023, he ran as the leader of the Confederation Liberty and Independence in the Warsaw district. He obtained a seat as an X-term member of parliament, receiving 101,269 votes (5.91% of the votes cast in the district).[7] Mentzen is the most popular Polish politician on TikTok, with over 40 million views.[8] On 17 September 2023, less than a month before the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, Instagram, a subsidiary of Meta Platforms, banned Mentzen's account with over 340 thousand followers in a move branded as electoral interference by Mentzen and various members of the opposing ruling United Right coalition.[9] Political stanceMentzen is known for seeking to establish his party as a national conservative force, despite being often labeled as far-right by the media and critics. He has been a vocal critic of the European Union, even advocating for Poland's exit from the union,[10] although he currently doesn't have a clear stance on this solution.[11][12] Mentzen has also put focus on economic matters, expressing concern about the weight of taxes and the extent of welfare spending. These issues have become central to his political agenda, resonating with voters who share similar concerns about the country's fiscal policies.[10] ControversiesJust prior to the 2019 European Parliament election, while mocking the "Five points of PiS", Mentzen gave a controversial political marketing lecture in which he proclaimed the unofficial so-called "Five points of Confederation" as follows: "We do not want Jews, homosexuals, abortions, taxation and the European Union."[13][14][15] He later argued that the comments were taken out of a larger performance focused on how to reach out to voters.[16] In the same year, Mentzen prepared a sum of 100 bills ready to be legislated under the Sejm's jurisdiction. Among them were the proposals for a prison sentence for performing an abortion, the creation of “undissolvable marriages” for those who wanted them, the legalization of light corporal punishment of children by parents, and the ending of Poland’s ban on promoting nazism and using hate speech.[17] However, shortly after publishing them online, the bills were deleted, and the hosting for the website expired.[18] When asked, he denied having authorship over most of the project.[19][20] Russian Invasion of UkraineMentzen criticized the government's decision to impose a ban on Russian coal imports as part of the sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. He states that this move was a wrong step by the Polish authorities, particularly considering the coal shortage and high prices the country is currently facing. Poland heavily relies on coal for its energy needs, with 66% of its energy mix coming from coal, and about 46% of Poles heating their houses with coal. Mentzen argued that the origin of the coal should not matter to consumers, emphasizing that the priority should be ensuring affordable and accessible heating options, especially for vulnerable individuals like the elderly.[21] Presidential campaignAt the end of August 2024, Mentzen announced his intention to run in the 2025 presidential election and started a campaign.[22] This action has been criticized by other politicians who state that, according to Polish electoral law, campaigns can only begin after the Marshal of the Sejm announces an act ordering the elections, thus making his campaign illegal.[23] In response, Mentzen said that he is running a "non-electoral campaign"[24] and that "it could just be a promotion of my face, my company, or a new product, that I have not yet announced".[25] Personal lifeMentzen is married and has three children. He is of German descent, as his paternal great-grandfather was German.[26] His father, Mieczysław Mentzen, teaches mathematics at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.[27] In September 2024, he stated that he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.[28][29][30] As of October 2023, Sławomir Mentzen's estimated net worth is approximately 49.1 million Polish złoty, consisting of various assets, including cash, cryptocurrencies, investments, real estate, and business holdings.[31] He is a Catholic. References
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