“This is the Augean stable. Not only one Heracles, but hundreds of honest managers will have to clean up the mess of companies, not only of nepotism, but also of indecent matters, including criminal matters.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this yesterday at a press conference about state-owned companies and the situation there. Now let’s forget his threats against people running businesses during United Right rule.
““Honest administrators”
This is a story that Tusk has used for a long time. He used it, among other things: during the now famous conversation, which was broadcast simultaneously by all leading television stations.
Tusk said at the time that public opinion in Poland would be “shocked” by what his government found in state-owned companies. So far nothing shocking has been published and it seems clear that the whole story of “corporate crime” has a purely political, and not substantive, purpose.
Let us pay attention to his statement about the “hundreds of honest managers” that the coalition should bring to state-owned companies on December 13. Talk of ‘depoliticizing’ companies was one of PO’s key positions during the election campaign. According to this story, when PO comes to power, the boards of directors and supervisors of companies would no longer consist of politicians and people close to the party, but of professionals whose competencies would be a sufficient guarantee of the success of state-owned enterprises. .
Let’s see to what extent the new coalition has succeeded.
Ms. Magdalena Roguska has become a new member of the Supervisory Board of the Polish Security Printing Company. For those who don’t know, let’s explain: she is a Warsaw city councilor from PO. Moreover, she is also treasurer of the Warsaw branch of the party and head of the political cabinet of the Minister of the Interior, Marcin Kierwiński.
When asked what powers Ms Roguska had to take up the new office, KO’s Katarzyna Lubnauer replied:
“I don’t know her competencies. Maybe this is a person with very broad competencies and he should go there.”
Maybe, but it doesn’t have to be that way. However, it is ‘ours’ and that is enough.
The ruling coalition also made significant changes to the supervisory board of Polska Grupa Energetyczna. From February 1, new positions in the PGE Council will be held by: Elżbieta Niebisz, Eryk Koński, Małgorzata Banasik, Sławomir Patyra, Andrzej Sadkowski, Andrzej Kozyra and Andrzej Rzońca.
The media describes the latter as the PO’s chief economist.
“It was he who advised the largest opposition group of that time during the 2019 election campaign. He was also responsible for the PO’s economic program at the time. A few years ago he expressed negative opinions, among other things: about the 500-plus program or lowering the retirement age, but as he emphasized: privileges once given should not be taken away.
– writes Interia Biznes.
A matter of trust
Another new member of the PGE Supervisory Board has strong ties to the current government. This is Sławomir Patyra, professor at the Department of Constitutional Law at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. In the years 2019 – 2023 he was a member of the controversial team of legal advisors for the check of the constitutionality of law under Tomasz Grodzki, the President of the Senate, and in 2021 he was a joint candidate of the Civic Coalition and the Polish People’s Party – Polish Coalition for the Office of Commissioner for Human Rights.
What is the situation at Enea, the next majority state-owned energy company? Michał Gniatowski became a new member of the Supervisory Board. He is best known as a candidate for the Sejm in the last elections, on the Third Way list. He is a member of the staff of Szymon Hołownia and his party Poland 2050.
Similar situations also occur in the media. Let us remind you that Paweł Majcher, who was the head of his cabinet of the Minister of the Interior in 2013, became the neo-president of Polish Radio, according to the illegal decision of the Minister of Culture Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz. Apparently this is a man he trusts.
In short, Tusk’s coalition of state-owned enterprises is currently doing exactly what it accuses the United Right of: distributing positions based on the criteria of party membership and loyalty.
Let’s not forget: we are talking about a political force that has ‘experience’ in running companies. In 2012, Polish media reported that the ruling coalition of PO and PSL controls around 600 state-owned companies. At that time, people held about 8,000 positions, and the “record holders” earned several million zlotys per year. At the same time, public companies performed much worse than during the PiS government.
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.