“You can’t trust him (D.Tusk – editorial note), although we should bear in mind that this slogan is somehow very catchy, because it was first used in the tenant movement, when it was the slogan of the Partying Together, so there is indeed a form that the left avoids for Donald Tusk,” says Dr. Bartosz Rydliński, political scientist, lecturer at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, in an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal.
wPolityce.pl: Doctor, Donald Tusk announced a housing program based on a loan without interest. Is it a custom program for banks and developers?
Dr. Bartosz Rydlinski: You can already tell that this is what leftist politicians think, pointing out that this is a program that will please developers and banks. One of the great Polish developers said that he did not expect such a nod from Donald Tusk.
Donald Tusk used the slogan of the left “living by right, not a commodity”, which aroused dissatisfaction among the Polish left itself. Can a politician who pursued a neoliberal policy in this respect be trusted at all?
You can’t trust him, although we have to keep in mind that this slogan sounds very catchy in a way because it was first about the tenants’ movement, then the slogan of the party Together, so it’s actually a form of Donald Tusk which bypasses the left, while the actual program is not entirely social-democratic. This is not a demand for the construction of state and local government flats for rent, but subsidies for the purchase of private real estate, additionally supported by private banks. Therefore, the content of this program is not completely left-wing.
The leader of the Civic Platform was surprised that Poles are so eager to own a flat, which he believes is not conducive to the construction of the Danish or German model, where, as he himself noted, people use state-owned, cooperative housing. Is Donald Tusk right in this regard?
He is right, because the vast majority of us want to own a flat and do not necessarily want to see ourselves in municipal or cooperative flats, although we must not forget that one way or another this is the experience of especially People’s Poland, because most of us lived in cooperative flats. It can be argued that the post-war housing problem was somewhat disarmed by this Scandinavian-French model, especially by Edward Gierek’s team. Therefore, Donald Tusk is partially telling the truth in this regard.
Isn’t owning a flat synonymous with social security for Poland, especially in these uncertain times?
It is, as long as there is no risk of loan repayment. Let’s take into account that due to the rise in interest rates, many Poles’ repayment terms have increased dramatically, so we can see that owning an apartment is not a safe solution. Many foreign analysts point out that Poland’s attachment to condominiums makes it difficult for them to migrate internally within the country, for example. Therefore, we can learn a little from our Western neighbors that the fact that Germans do not own most of their apartments and can move from one place to another for better jobs is, in a sense, the basis for their economic growth, stability and internal mobility. usually translates into good economic results.
What do you think should be the reaction of the Polish left to Donald Tusk’s proposal?
It must be what it is. Saying what the left once talked about in Włocławek, where the deputy mayor of this city, Krzysztof Kukucki from Nowa Lewica, boasted that the local government is building rental apartments in Włocławek. Therefore, it absolutely must not change its strategy, because it is much more credible in its narrative than Civic Platform.
It is also often said that the supply in the housing market should be freed up and regulations should be reduced, then developers will build many apartments. Why isn’t this happening?
This is probably not a true thesis. Let’s not forget that the problem is not the supply, but the fact that there is no strong state and local government player that would be able to build good quality rental apartments. Today, the developer clearly and clearly shows that if he could even build windows into windows, he would. Therefore, the Law and Justice government has made special legal amendments to combat such pathologies. So I do not agree with the statement that even less regulation will allow developers to build better and cheaper.
– “New platform program: Developer Plus”. Tusk failed to impress the left with the slogan “housing is a right, not a commodity!”
— The opposition screams that PiS has ruined the economy. Meanwhile, Tusk promises… 0 percent loans. for the first apartment and rent allowance
— Tusk surprised that Poland wants to buy apartments: “It seems to me that your generation does not have much time”
He spoke to Mr
Source: wPolityce