Polish leader blames low birthrate on women using alcohol

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s ruling party leader has triggered anger and mockery by claiming that the country’s low birthrate is partly caused by overconsumption of alcohol by young women. Opposition politicians and many other critics accused Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a 73-year-old lifelong bachelor, of being out of touch. They also argue that Kaczynski, the most powerful politician in Poland since 2015, is himself partly responsible for the the low birthrate in the central European nation of 38 million people. Critics point the difficulty young people have in raising families due to rising costs in a country where inflation recently reached nearly 18% and Kaczynski has pushed for restrictions on abortion that have discouraged some women from seeking to get pregnant.