“Of course, presidential ambitions will also be of great importance. Everyone will want to play first violin here – perhaps less Kosiniak-Kamysz, because it is known that he has fewer opportunities here, but Hołownia and one of the Platform candidates – probably Rafał Trzaskowski – certainly,” said a political scientist, professor, in an interview with wPolityce.pl. Bartłomiej Bishop.
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wPolityce.pl: According to our website, there is a list of potential candidates for ministerial positions in the potential government of Donald Tusk. There will be room for only four women. Why are there so few, even though the Civic Coalition and its allied parties have emphasized the “women’s issue” so strongly in the election campaign?
Prof. Bartłomiej Bishop: Frankly, I don’t consider it a particularly differentiating factor – whether the minister is a woman or a man. The head of the ministry must have a political position and it is not gender that determines this, but political characteristics. Here we are dealing with the issue of the difference between what is declared during the campaign and what is done afterwards. These types of demands are typical campaign demands because they sound good and are supported by different social groups, such as demands regarding gender equality. However, later reality looks as it does.
Parties in Poland do not have as many women in their ranks, they are not as interested in active politics as men, and list leaders do not include them on the lists. After all, there are about 30% of them in the Sejm, and 53% of them in society. It seems that in our country this is more of a campaign slogan than a political criterion. This is the real norm in Poland, it has always been this way, and it is to some extent reflected in politicians’ statements to increase the role of women in politics.
Presumably the Ministry of Science will move to the left, Barbara Nowacka will be responsible for education, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz will be in the Ministry of Culture and Sławomir Nitras will be in the government. Does this mean that Donald Tusk’s potential cabinet will radically shift its identity and morality to the left?
Of course this can happen, I just don’t know if it will be very radical or not. Ministries in the field of education, science and culture are of great importance. However, this will be a different government, one that is not conservative, but centre-left. It is clear to me that these directions will be more liberal. We will only see whether it will go in the direction of liberalism in the context of expanding freedom, or in the left direction and attributing these values to various government activities. Like any government, this one will have its ideological priorities, and these will certainly not be conservative in nature.
The hypothetical ministers included many so-called politicians. “old guard”, such as Radosław Sikorski, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz or Tomasz Siemoniak. This indicates the “short bench” of Donald Tusk or does he fulfill his obligations to individual people and factions in the Civic Platform?
I would rather attribute this to the selection of people who Donald Tusk simply trusts, who have followed his political life with him and who he can count on. I wouldn’t associate it with factionalism in the Platform. “Short sofa”? It may not be so short, because there are also people from the younger generations who can hold different positions. Tusk’s main motivation was probably to recruit trusted people to work in the government.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz becomes the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Szymon Hołownia has become the chairman of the Sejm, there is also Donald Tusk and Rafał Trzaskowski – they all seem to have presidential ambitions. Will this coalition be able to survive the upcoming elections for the head of state?
The presidential elections are simple because there are two rounds. There is therefore a possibility, and will probably be taken advantage of, that in the first round each party will field its own candidate, and in the second round the individual parties will allocate their support to a common candidate.
Of course, presidential ambitions will also be of great importance. Everyone will want to play first fiddle here – perhaps less Kosiniak-Kamysz, because it is known that he has fewer chances here, but Hołownia and one of the Platform’s candidates – probably Rafał Trzaskowski – certainly. Szymon Hołownia will want to use his five minutes and the fact that he has been elected chairman of the Sejm to strengthen his position. There may be some disagreements in the coalition here.
Interviewed by Paweł Nienałtowski
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Source: wPolityce