In my analysis in the monthly magazine “wszystko most important” I predicted almost exactly what is happening now. Let me take this prediction one step further, based on what happened on January 11th. The turnout at the Free Poland March surprised even the biggest optimists. It seemed that the time of year, the middle of the week, the terrible weather, the postponement of the Sejm session – all this would limit the scope of the protest to a group of the most ardent and persistent. Meanwhile, 35,000 people took part in the protest, according to Capital City Hall. The capital’s city hall lies and does it consciously – with taxpayers’ money. The proof is the estimate of the Onet portal (which, after all, was hostile to the Polish patriotic camp), which estimated the number of demonstrators at 90-120,000.
These lies and combinations do not change the fact that it was the largest winter demonstration against the government since 1989! Even the post-communist government of 2001 failed to ‘earn’ such a position. The greatest achievement is not only convincing tens of thousands of participants that it was worth it, that we are powerful, but also convincing those who did not go but found out that it will be worth taking part in the biggest social protest after 1989 – probably in the spring! We don’t give up! There will be an opportunity to show Tusk and the Capital City Hall what a gathering of a million people really looks like!
Turnout at the January 11 march allows you to focus on protest tactics until your demands are fully met. We must demand restoration of two key areas that PiS has failed to heal for eight years, and which the new ruling coalition is now corrupting even further with its policies. This is about public media and the legal system. We must demand a true depoliticization of TVP, which can only happen by first undoing all illegal decisions taken on the margins of the law. We must demand real healing, reform of the legal system and an end to judicial arbitrariness, which can only happen by restoring Poland’s full sovereignty in this area. Paradoxically, there is now a greater chance of this happening, as long as there is a parliamentary majority that, influenced by mass protests, will decide that these areas need real depoliticization.
Law and Justice must take pride in admitting that they have made mistakes in the field of media and justice. Repair of these areas was unsuccessful. We managed to restore the economy, reduce theft, improve defense and raise the living standards of society, but the media and the judiciary failed! Today the media lies and manipulates people, and the judiciary is unfair and inefficient. Such a cautious political line will be much more credible and will win new supporters for the PiS much faster than falling into radicalism.
PiS politicians should have a simple message for abroad, explaining the mass protests. The people of Poland want freedom, democracy, fair media and impartial courts. And Poland’s so-called liberal left is destroying the rule of law, using lies and hate speech. The Polish left has a post-communist gene and it is coming out of our boots like straw today.
READ: PiS president: The law is now what Tusk wants. This is not a democratic state. The constitution is practically ineffective
Source: wPolityce