Last Saturday, in the “Journal’s Salon”, Michał Karnowski asked me for my opinion on Sławomir Nitras’ statement about the obesity of PiS politicians. I said at the time that those words were a treat compared to what was going to happen in the campaign. Unfortunately, the past week has brought a painful confirmation of my intuition.
Although the campaign has formally begun, it is well underway and we have seen that in the coming months there will be no boundaries that cannot be crossed, no taboos that cannot be trampled, no taboos that cannot be broken. There will be no insult that cannot be thrown in the opposite direction of public discourse. These will be months that will devastate society emotionally and morally, but also the political class.
It is well known that nothing mobilizes voters like emotions. So there will be no emotions that politicians will not use. The party that has no program offer and does not want to have a substantive discussion is mainly interested in inciting Poland, because it is afraid that it will not gain as much as it would like. For now, however, this website has succeeded in reminding Poles that they have a warm heart and love John Paul II. We have managed to direct their anger at iconoclasts who want to denounce Catholics. While it probably wasn’t the plan, emotions can’t always be controlled and channeled.
A few days ago, the leader of the opposition, Donald Tusk, announced that he was ready to talk at any time, “including with President Kaczyński about the terms of his capitulation”. It should keep us in a constant state of war, but in a democracy no one capitulates. In a democracy, the voters decide. It is up to them whether or not there will be a change of power. At the polls, those who want to “eat PiS” and those who feel the same way about the political opponents of the United Right will meet. Who will be the winner and who will be the loser will depend on which party goes to the polls in greater numbers. Someone will always be dissatisfied, but in a democracy adults can control their emotions and listen to the sovereign’s decisions, although not everyone has been successful in recent years.
Last week’s lesson is that both sides need to step back and pat themselves on the back, not someone else’s. This will be most effective. If the level of debate does not drop, Poland will burn before the elections and there will be ashes. The international context in which we live is very unfavorable and hostile forces can and will take advantage of the Polish-Polish, devastating war. It is worth remembering this, because then it may be too late for reconciliation.
Source: wPolityce