In an interview with Radio Zet, Bogdan Zdrojewski, MP of the Civic Coalition, was asked, among others: about what will happen to Pl. Piłsudski in Warsaw. On October 31, 2017, the then head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Mariusz Błaszczak, signed a decision to designate the square as a closed area. “It will probably return to management where it should be, that is to say, to local government,” Zdrojewski said, adding that “it is not a decision that lies in the palm of our hands” but that it “must be taken in accordance with the interests of the Polish state.
Piłsudski Square
When asked what would happen to the capital’s square. Piłsudski and Bogdan Zdrojewski said that “he will probably return to management where he should be, namely to local government.”
PiS has done a lot to treat local governments as it has treated them, that is, from the bottom up, both in terms of finality and powers.
– he pointed out.
According to him, “the treatment of this square was the last straw in PiS’s thinking about local government and Poland.”
When asked when pl. Piłsudski will return to the city’s management. The politician noted that “this is an issue that must be agreed upon between the new voivode and President Rafał Trzaskowski.”
There is no hurry, this is not a decision that burns in your hands, but it must be taken in accordance with the interests of the Polish state
– he emphasized.
In June 2017, the Masovian Voivodeship, Zdzisław Sipiera, applied to transfer the management of Piłsudski Square to him in order to organize ceremonies there, including state ceremonies. In October 2017, the then Minister of Infrastructure and Construction, Andrzej Adamczyk, issued a decision to transfer the square to the voivode. On January 31, the Mazovia Office announced that it had taken over the management of the square. Piłsudski – the transfer protocol was signed unilaterally because no representative of the President of Warsaw was present at the meeting. The town hall notes that the case has not been closed because there is no signature of the city representative.
On October 31, the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, who was then head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, signed the decision to build the square. Piłsudskiego a closed area. The resort, mentioning, among other things, on issues related to state defense and security, he explained that the voivode is responsible for ensuring the cooperation of all government and local administrative bodies operating in the voivode and for managing their activities in the field of, among other things, For state security and the maintenance of public order, a reserved area is necessary where the voivode can fulfill his duties in a “situation of real threat”.
In March 2018, the capital’s City Hall submitted a notice to the prosecutor’s office about the possibility of exceeding the powers of the current head of the Ministry of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak. The prosecutor’s office initially refused to open an investigation because no signs of a prohibited act were found at the stage of the verification procedure. The town hall filed a complaint and the district court overturned the prosecutor’s decision not to investigate the case and ordered its reopening.
In August 2021, the investigation into the case was stopped due to the lack of evidence of a prohibited act.
Reconstruction of the Saxon palace
In the context of Piłsudski Square, Zdrojewski also answered the question about the reconstruction of the Saxon Palace.
There were two objects in this bill. I had a big problem, because I was in favor of rebuilding Brühl Palace. It is very interesting architecture, very Warsaw, at the highest possible level. However, it was connected to the Saxon Palace, and I would like to remind you that I was against the reconstruction of an eclectic, non-historical and negatively associated building. The context of the existing Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is also taken into account
– he said.
It was even suggested that the palace’s reconstruction would end with the move of the town hall there. I have used the opinions of art historians and urban planners. Everyone emphasized that the symbolism of the Saxon Palace was not completely clear, pure and positive for us
– added.
I do not want to convince Minister Sienkiewicz to carefully consider this project again, but I am not satisfied with such an eclectic reconstruction of the colonnade with numerous corridors, with the lack of functionality of this facility, with its anachronistic and eclectic character in terms of the quality of the architecture.
– said the MP.
I wouldn’t rebuild this palace, but this is just my opinion
– he said.
If a facility were to be built on this site referring to this historical site, I would think about making its form and usefulness more appropriate for the 21st century, taking into account the fact of the existence of it Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. extremely sensitive, nice point.
– said Bogdan Zdrojewski.
We are at the stage of checking the costs incurred, the rationality and reliability of plans for possible reconstruction. The inventory should be ready within a few weeks
– said the guest from Radio Zet.
Media law
During the conversation, Bogdan Zdrojewski was asked, among other things: for work in the field of media law.
There are ready-made assumptions about an important media law. 2024 is when it will come into effect. This will be published in the first half of this year
– announced the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Culture and Media.
According to the KO politician, the bill will be published in March-April instead of June-July. However, he noted that those in power fear that “there will be no special will from President Andrzej Duda to sign it.” However, the politician expressed hope that the president will talk about it.
When asked about the bill regarding the liquidation of the National Media Council, the politician said it was ready, adding that it was in the parliamentary “freezer”.
Marshal (Elżbieta) Witek put her there. The bill was passed by the Senate. A good design that may need some minor adjustments
– he pointed.
He recalled that some of the bill’s assumptions were discussed in 2023.
They were discussed among journalists, producers, television and film producers. Basically it’s done
– said Zdrojewski.
““Liquidation” of public media
Referring to the recent events surrounding the public media, the head of the Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Media claimed that PiS was to blame for everything, and that the current government was somehow forced to take the actions we recently witnessed .
I don’t want to go into technical details. Unfortunately, PiS has reduced the public media to such a state that quite radical actions were necessary
– said Zdrojewski when asked if it was really necessary to turn off the TVP Info signal.
It was an absolute curiosity. Something that seemed impossible to happen in the civilized world of a democratic country, and yet it happened
– he argued.
The politician also tried to defend Minister Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz’s decision to liquidate public media companies.
I would benefit from the very important step of President Andrzej Duda. By vetoing the budget bill and destroying the public media from a fundamental and financial perspective, he created a politically phenomenal situation. Minister Sienkiewicz did not have much choice
– he said.
The liquidation of the public media due to a lack of financial resources and a lack of understanding of the internal situation in terms of financial obligations was a natural, obvious and very rational move.
– he assessed.
When asked about the possibility of holding the former president of TVP, Jacek Kurski, responsible for “destruction of the public media” (the question was whether Jacek Kurski had turned off the TVP Info signal for several days, causing huge financial losses for the company?), Bogdan Zdrojewski replied:
Accountability has already begun. Anyone who destroyed the Polish state will be held accountable.
““Marshal of the Sejm in a trap”
The Radio Zet guest was also asked about the case of PiS MPs: Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik.
The Marshal of the Sejm was in a certain trap. In fact, he presented his decision as if it were an administrative decision
– Zdrojewski commented, pointing out that the decision was in fact an announcement about the expiry of the mandates of parliamentarians.
If the mandate expiration formula and the information about the mandate expiration had worked without any doubt from the start, the situation would have been simpler. Today I feel sorry for the Marshal because he has fallen into a trap from which there is no good way out
– he assessed.
I look at it with sadness. Our formal and legal context has been destroyed. I could not imagine that a final judgment of the court would be questioned by the leader of the opposition party. This is an incredible situation
– he said.
It is also an unprecedented situation to suggest that a project that has already started should not be continued, officially based on the opinions of urban planners and art historians, and unofficially – in fact only because the PiS government took the initiative.
aja/Radio Zet, PAP
Source: wPolityce