For some time now, the former Prime Minister of Poland and later President of the European Council – Donald Tusk – has been signalling his desire to return to Polish politics. This is due to several factors. The first is that the Polish neoliberal right is still losing out to the populist right, represented by Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party. The second is that the opposition is looking for a leader who will unite the opposition and take votes away from the ruling party. And the third is a personal conviction of Donald Tusk that almost the whole nation is waiting for his return. This, as it turned out, is a false belief. As opinion polls show, Poles do not wish at all to see Tusk returning to the post of prime minister or any significant position in Polish politics.
Polacy nie chcą Tuska na białym koniu. Jednoznaczne wyniki sondażu
However, the ruling Law and Justice party has a trump card in its hands – money from the European Union, which is to go to help the economy after the pandemic. The Law and Justice party immediately called it „Polish Order” and is presenting citizens with a wide-ranging aid programme designed to counteract inequalities but also to strengthen the Polish state. The assumptions of the Polish Order made an impression on voters, and thanks to their prosocial directions, they were also supported by the parliamentary Left.
The protests against the Minister of Education Przemyslaw Chernek are not silent. He is one of the most fanatical right-wing religious fundamentalists in the Polish government. His proposed changes to the Polish school will turn it into a non-modern open-air museum. A wave of protests against him is sweeping through Polish cities.
„Czarnek, idź precz” czyli kolejna manifestacja przeciwko ministrowi edukacji już dziś w Warszawie
One of the more active trade unions, Inicjatywa Pracownicza, has recorded an important success in its fight for workers’ rights. As a result of pressure from trade unionists and a planned protest action, security companies, which had previously cheated their workers, got scared and refunded their outstanding money.
Kolejny sukces Inicjatywy Pracowniczej. Szef zapłacił 100 tys., aby uniknąć protestu
Despite the propaganda of success promoted by the authorities, it turns out that Polish agronomists are getting worse. The prices of the goods they produce keep falling. It is getting to the point where the production of meat, milk and potatoes is becoming unprofitable. This is what farmers protested against at the Ministry of Agriculture, led by Michał Kołodziejczak and his organisation, Agrounia.
The Polish left is still fighting for objectively presented history, which is falsified by official factors on a daily basis. The left in Lodz recalled the struggle for social and national liberation in 1905.
Łódź: obchody rocznicy rewolucji 1905 roku. „Tamci ludzie mieli odwagę zmieniać świat”
The Polish parliament, by a large majority, passed amendments to the code of administrative procedure. In practice, they stop the wild and uncontrolled reprivatisation. Over the last 30 years, reprivatisation has become a field of abuse, forgery and human tragedy. Now, at last, this has been stopped. However, it has not been without scandal: Israel and the US are protesting, convinced that this will put a stop to demands for the restitution of formerly Jewish property that has passed into state ownership. Israel wants it to become the property of Jewish foundations or associations. Poland will not agree to this. In addition, Israel is accusing Poland of complicity in the Holocaust. This is not true.
Koniec reprywatyzacji? Sejm uchwala przełomowe zmiany, USA i Izrael oburzone
There is another danger. A Polish minister has unambiguously announced that there may be legislation against the LGBT community. Poland is thus placing itself outside the circle of tolerant and LGBT-friendly countries.
„Zakaz promowania homoseksualizmu” także w Polsce? Jeden minister potwierdza, inny zaprzecza
Translated into English by Wojciech Łobodziński.
How is the war in Ukraine changing Poland?
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is changing the whole world. Its consequences are felt by …
