The presidential campaigns in 2015 and then in 2020 were a great success for President Andrzej Duda and people who supported him, including Marcin Mastalerek. Personal talents, hard work, dignified fulfillment of the post of head of state – these are things that are evident and valued (despite the natural differences in the assessment of some cases and the fate of different laws) throughout the pro-Polish camp. We often wrote about it in the weekly magazine “Sieci” and on the portal wPolityce.pl. That is why Marcin Mastalerek is right when he emphasizes in Interia the importance of Andrzej Duda’s victory in 2015 and talks about the need to respect the president of people who later had great careers.
However, I cannot help but react when the following words are said:
that moment [rok 2015] it was not a “good change”. It was Duda change.
Because it was Andrzej Duda’s victory in the 2015 presidential election that started the process of change in Poland and gave PiS the chance to rule. It was thanks to this victory that right-wing voters believed that this formation could win elections at all. Let me remind you that PiS previously recorded eight electoral defeats in a row! Many pundits – from right to left – agreed that this party had no chance of coming to power, it had too large a negative electorate, it was doomed to perpetual opposition.
And further, in an interview with Interia:
It was as a result of Andrzej Duda’s victory, thanks to his talent, determination and his hard work, that PiS broke its glass ceiling. The 2015 presidential election is an extremely important timeline. Not only for the right in Poland, but also in the recent history of Polish politics. It was Andrzej Duda who caused the change, opened the door to a political reset in Poland. That’s why I emphasize: it was Duda substitution!
There is some truth to this post about what President Duda added, but this is not the whole truth. Because Beata Szydło, Mateusz Morawiecki, Jacek Sasin, Mariusz Błaszczak, Zbigniew Ziobro, Piotr Gliński, Ryszard Terlecki, Elżbieta Witek, Antoni Macierewicz, Joachim Brudziński, Mariusz Kamiński, Jacek Kurski, Grzegorz Bierecki and others also added something. Including tens of thousands of patriots, volunteers and activists.
I do not deny that Andrzej Duda added more thanks to his talent, work, moment, and Marcin Mastalerek in particular is entitled to such an assessment. But that doesn’t change the essential. Well, in general this is not how politics works (not only) in Poland. No politician, not even the greatest, wins the presidential election single-handedly, without the support of the political apparatus, party apparatus, funds and existence in the media, reporting on his activities. Without these elements you can play for 10 percent, but not for the full pot. That has been the case in every election since 1990, including 2015. Andrzej Duda put a lot into his victory, nobody can take that away from him. But if he hadn’t had a tried and tested political structure, an organized political force behind him, he could have put in twice as much effort and not won.
They built this political, pro-Polish structure, let it and devoted their entire lives to it. President Lech Kaczyński and Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. Someone might say, well, they’re not alone. It would be a stupid comment. Because they built against the system, under extremely difficult conditions, were furiously attacked from day one by the post-communist media and business, also broken up by the post-communist secret services. Let’s hunt Lech Kaczyński, with the tragic finale in Smolensk, is also a chapter in this history. The history of the Third Polish Republic is largely the struggle of their environment with those who made a deal with the post-communists. The insurgents were always crushed or corrupted by this system. They were the only ones who resisted, attracted others, brought the legacy of true “Solidarity” to new times, translated it into modern language. A historical role that should not be underestimated.
The camp of the Third Republic of Poland understood how dangerous the existence of this center was from their point of view. Therefore, he constantly tried to eliminate him. But he couldn’t. When the Third Polish Republic began to falter, this time we count from the Rywin scandal, it was possible for the Kaczynski camp to take the offensive. The culmination of this effort was the 2005 presidential election, with the late Mr. Lech Kaczyński, and then, after surviving several difficult years after Smolensk, the return to the struggle for power and changes in Poland in 2014-2015. Sure, the entire patriotic camp around Law and Justice fought, I emphasize that no one denies the merits of President Andrzej Duda, but without Jarosław Kaczyński and the structure built by him, without his leadership, there would be no victory. That is the truth.
From the understanding of these mechanisms, from years of experience observing Polish politics, comes the concern we place on our pages for unity and the need to respect President Jarosław Kaczyński’s leadership throughout the patriotic camp.
The victories after 2015 and the great opportunity for the next four years to take Poland to the next level, build its strength and ambitions, defend its dignity, did not come from a sudden breakthrough, a flash of talent (although who whatever), but through decades of effort by Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński and people who walk this path with them.
Anyone who honestly looks at those years, who saw it closely, should remember this.
In any case, both today and sometime in the future, without Jarosław Kaczyński, the camp may face many years of sorrows, failures and the appearance of independent, outstanding talents, which, unfortunately, will not overcome much. Maybe it will be different. But those who try to take it further in the future must understand at what cost and with what effort this legacy has been won.
Source: wPolityce