“The government’s actions so far include destroying PiS, taking revenge, destroying institutions and blocking major investments,” said Prof. Wojciech Polak in an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal.
wPolityce.pl: The past few days have been full of extremely intense political events. The current government has decisively attacked its political opponents. How do you assess the recent actions of Donald Tusk’s team?
Prof. Wojciech Polak: I expected this to happen. I said and wrote that the first phase was a series of actions that evaded and ignored the law and the courts. Donald Tusk has now moved on to the second phase, which is putting people in jail and convicting them. I share the opinion of Rafał Ziemkiewicz, who once said that what is happening in Poland is a testing ground for the European Union. The Brussels structures monitor the extent to which societies are able to accept the methods imposed on them. Countries like Germany and France are planning to implement the insane policies of the Green Deal, which means depriving people of housing, means of transportation and the total impoverishment of society. In Poland they test how long people can hold out, how much they can tolerate without rebellion or social outburst. They check to what extent people can tolerate simple terror or the liquidation of political groups. In my opinion, Tusk is trying to liquidate PiS.
What would it take for a serious public reaction to occur?
This is a very difficult matter. Sometimes irrational factors decide. People have to endure a lot. Just like Polish society under communism. Explosions took place in extreme situations. I hear that Tusk will increase electricity and gas prices by eighty percent in July and some people expect that people will not be able to tolerate this and will revolt. I don’t think that’s the case. Sometimes an oppressive system operates for years and nothing happens.
You mentioned the issue of PiS’s liquidation. Is this a truly realistic scenario? How would this happen?
If they take party leaders to court and put them in jail, and a campaign of propaganda and hatred is waged in the controlled media, and then the financial foundations are undermined, the political party may be liquidated. They use all methods and have the courts on their side. They also strive for an information monopoly. It is not yet absolute, because there are still media that are independent of the government.
Or is it perhaps the case that the new government simply has the right to introduce its own regulations?
You can clean yourself, but you must do it legally. This is how PiS functioned after 2015, through legal means. We have agreed on a certain system and we must implement it. When the current majority does not have full authority to pass laws because the president can veto them, illegal methods begin to be used. This is just lawlessness. Then there is the matter of the total incompetence of the new government, which has done virtually nothing during these hundred days. We don’t even know what program they have. Their actions so far include destroying PiS, taking revenge, destroying institutions and blocking major investments. This is a policy that suits Germany, which is in an economic crisis. They want Poland to be in this condition too, otherwise they will prevent its development. Donald Tusk clearly plans to introduce the euro in Poland, which will affect every Pole. The main obstacle in the Prime Minister’s path is the President of the National Bank of Poland. That is why they want to summon Adam Glapiński to the State Tribunal.
You mentioned the liquidation of the institution. What impact could this have on the social situation?
Cultural and scientific institutions that helped determine Poland’s position in Europe and the world are being liquidated. Blocked, among other things: Expansion of the National Museum, which is not yet an institution comparable to a country with almost forty million inhabitants and a beautiful culture. A number of other investments are also being halted. There will be no new opera stage in Warsaw. Museum of Memory and Identity in Toruń, the construction of which has already been completed, but fifteen million zlotys were needed to complete the construction. However, the money was withdrawn. The paradox is that this facility is not owned by Tadeusz Rydzyk’s father, as some claim, but by the Ministry of Finance. Taking away funding is paranoia.
There are also changes in education. How do you evaluate it?
It is not only history and the Polish language that are victims of these reforms. The entire Polish school is a victim as cuts are made to the core curriculum of every subject. Malicious people say that young people who pick asparagus do not need to have a good education. This is a reprehensible approach. Failure to teach about our nation’s most important events is an attack on Polish patriotism and identity. A young man should be proud to be Polish, and you cannot be a patriot without knowing your own history. Eliminating traditional school reading materials from the curriculum is the denial of a certain model of Polishness. The essence of Polishness will be destroyed. The consequences of this action can also be disastrous from a purely practical point of view. If we do not educate young Poles in the spirit of patriotism, when a critical situation arises where we have to defend our homeland, we may have a serious problem. The morality of soldiers determines victory and effective defense. If we want to be safe, we must be sure that moral standards are high.
Interviewed by Tomasz Karpowicz.
Source: wPolityce