Is Kaczyński able to get back to power? Part II
“Crusade” of devoted PiS adherents against the Presidential palace not just disunited Poles — it actually torn the Polish society into two unequal parts. “Kaczyński’s special forces” (the much-talked-about mohair berets) having started with demands to immortalize late Lech Kaczyński’s memory — reminded Civic Platform all the offences, mostly connected to the kościół[1] role in Poland. Rightist liberal CP, which deals that issue with great delicacy, did its best to avoid any abrupt moves. Bills regarding state support of artificial fertilization, elimination of kościół pension fund, review of Commission on kościół property results are lying in the Seim for years. For now deputies don’t even examine them, although CP has the coalition majority in the parliament. To a considerable degree Donald Tusk turned out to be a hostage of the situation created by the insane Kaczyński’s actions.
Continuation
Sic fatur Palikot
Having obtained seemingly absolute fullness of power, Civic Platform, however, is showing unprecedented cautiousness — being taught by the bitter PiS example from the period when President and Prime Minister had the same last name. Under the confident leadership of Donald Tusk, CP for the first time in contemporary Polish political history applied political technologies, much more characteristic of the former USSR republics. Impressed by the sudden SLD success, Tusk decided to create CP subsidiary party — the one capable of pulling certain part of anti-clerical SLD electorate off for itself. For that sake, Janusz Palikot — one of the most scandalous CP Seim deputies — was used.
Person of Palikot and the history of party creation are worth telling a separate story. Having been born in 1964 and graduated from the Warsaw University Philosophy department, he started his career as a Philosophy Institute postgraduate of the Polish Academy of Science. However, after the collapse of socialistic management system in 1989 he abandoned his unfinished thesis and went into business. His first business — vodka crates manufacturing — brought him his first million. In 1990 Palikot created “Ambra” company and started to produce alcohol. In 2001 he concluded an advantageous deal with the German “Schloss Wachenheim” and, having sold “Ambra” to it, created another company — “Jabłonnę”. Having become famous across Poland with “Żołądkowa Gorzka[2]” vodka that Poles came to like and having earned few more millions, former philosopher joined Civic Platform and in 2005 he was elected to Seim for the first time. Since that he became chairman of Lublin CP branch and left business, having placed quite a prize-winning 50th position in the list of the richest Poles.
Janusz Palikot
In 2007 Janusz Palikot was repeatedly elected as the Seim deputy during the pre-term election and appointed Chairman of “Friendly State” Committee — which mission was proclaimed to be the improvement of state service quality, fight against bureaucracy and adoption of new information technologies in that field. Since that moment he became enfant terrible of the Polish politics. He gained extraordinary popularity (negative one as well) due to his uncommon (for Polish political culture) statements. He calls his colleagues “bull’s asses” and “political prostitutes”, not avoiding the tabooed vocabulary as well. It came to the point when stickers “Lublin apologizes for Palikot” appeared at some cars with Lublin registration numbers.
But an actual specialty of Janusz Palikot was his methodical mockery over Kaczyński brothers. Witty and cruel jokes of millionaire from Lublin were quoted by press media, repeated in the Internet and reproduced on TV. He, for example, covertly accused Jarosław, living alone with his cat, of homosexuality; he also openly accused late Lech of alcoholism and even demanded his drug abuse examination and assignment to the compulsory treatment. In the substantial part of his program Palikot allowed himself to agitate voters for the legalization of abortions and same-sex marriages, which is more than bold for the Catholic Poland.
Constitutive convention of the newly-created party — which features a draft name “Movement for the support of Janusz Palikot” for now — started on the 2nd of October this year in the Culture and Science Congress Hall of Warsaw Palace with great pomp and solemnity. Being accompanied by the sounds of Richard Strauss symphonic poem “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”[3], founder of the new political power went to the stage and held his throne speech. Having mentioned his native Civic Platform, he said that it had lost its charm of a young girl, having turned into disgusting fat old bag; having touched the issue of Catholic Church he said that the time has come to actually separate it from the state and eliminate the state-funded church pension fund. He also promised everyone free Internet and the adoption of silent consent principle[4]. Palikot’s suggestion to deprive army of 1% GDP out of 1.9% — that is the today’s budget of Wojsko Polskie[5] — and spend that money for the culture was met with peculiar approval: “During the entire history of our nation there was no army that managed to save us. It, however, was the Polish culture that did”. At the nearest parliamentary elections Janusz Palikot is planning to get at least one seat in the Seim — in order to do that he would have to gain support of 5% of electorate or more.
Constitutive convention of the newly-created party — which features a draft name “Movement for the support of Janusz Palikot” for now — started on the 2nd of October this year in the Culture and Science Congress Hall of Warsaw Palace with great pomp and solemnity. Being accompanied by the sounds of Richard Strauss symphonic poem “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”[3], founder of the new political power went to the stage and held his throne speech. Having mentioned his native Civic Platform, he said that it had lost its charm of a young girl, having turned into disgusting fat old bag; having touched the issue of Catholic Church he said that the time has come to actually separate it from the state and eliminate the state-funded church pension fund. He also promised everyone free Internet and the adoption of silent consent principle[4]. Palikot’s suggestion to deprive army of 1% GDP out of 1.9% — that is the today’s budget of Wojsko Polskie[5] — and spend that money for the culture was met with peculiar approval: “During the entire history of our nation there was no army that managed to save us. It, however, was the Polish culture that did”. At the nearest parliamentary elections Janusz Palikot is planning to get at least one seat in the Seim — in order to do that he would have to gain support of 5% of electorate or more.
Kaczyński’s crusade
This is one of grotesque images of Kaczynski, quite popular in Poland today. The signature on the monument says: “Revive and win”
Atmosphere of mourning that emerged in Poland after the tragic catastrophe near Smolensk is absolutely understandable. Hadn’t it even been the Air Force One, death of 96 fellow countrymen would have shocked any country. In that peculiar case, however, Poland had lost representatives of its political elite. But instead of appropriate honoring of his friends and political opponents, Jarosław Kaczyński, having lost the presidential elections, turned the national mourning into the beginning of the civil war.
Russians have a joke that no real wedding can go without a fight, while Poles used to say: “Old age brings no joy, funerals are not a wedding”. It seems that being a huge fan of Russia, Kaczyński confused these two proverbs. Maybe the reason is that he has never been married and in the evening of his life he spends lonely autumn nights in a company of his beloved cat? Having missed the opportunity to fight at the wedding while he was young, he decided to start one at the funerals of his twin-brother.
He decided to trade the natural empathy of his fellow Poles for the political capital, but while his electoral offer lacked anything but the hatred to all the “aliens” within or without the country, he lost the presidential elections. Current state of Polish society cannot be dubbed in any other way but the “Cold Civil war”. “Crusade” of devoted PiS adherents against the Presidential palace not just disunited Poles — it actually torn the Polish society into two unequal parts. “Kaczyński’s special forces” (the much-talked-about mohair berets) having started with demands to immortalize late Lech Kaczyński’ memory — reminded Civic Platform all the offences, mostly connected to the kościół[6] role in Poland.
He decided to trade the natural empathy of his fellow Poles for the political capital, but while his electoral offer lacked anything but the hatred to all the “aliens” within or without the country, he lost the presidential elections. Current state of Polish society cannot be dubbed in any other way but the “Cold Civil war”. “Crusade” of devoted PiS adherents against the Presidential palace not just disunited Poles — it actually torn the Polish society into two unequal parts. “Kaczyński’s special forces” (the much-talked-about mohair berets) having started with demands to immortalize late Lech Kaczyński’ memory — reminded Civic Platform all the offences, mostly connected to the kościół[6] role in Poland.
Rightist liberal CP, which deals that issue with great delicacy, did its best to avoid any abrupt moves. Bills regarding state support of artificial fertilization, elimination of kościół pension fund, review of Commission on kościół property results are lying in the Seim for years. For now deputies don’t even examine them, although CP has the coalition majority in the parliament. To a considerable degree Donald Tusk turned out to be a hostage of the situation created by the insane Kaczyński’s actions.
Even an attempt to review these bills may lead to a further split inside of the ruling coalition, as long as CP partner — PSL (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe[7]) — is obviously not ready to support the radical bills (from the Catholic standpoint), as long as its electorate are the Polish villagers. And they’ve traditionally opposed the secularization of the state. From the other hand, CP electorate is the people living in large cities and featuring high level of incomes and education — they have a strictly negative attitude not only towards Kaczyński himself and his “special forces” but towards the very foundation of Roman Catholic Church activity in Poland — Concordat, the treaty between Poland and the Vatican. Strictly according to the third Newton’s law, Kaczyński’s “crusade” caused the reaction of anti-clerical power in return. For a long time they’ve been keeping silence, unwilling to aggravate the relationship with kościół and its devoted adherents. In a rather paradoxical way Kaczyński, being unable to predict the consequences of his actions, became not only the “godfather” of the newly-born Palikot’s party but also awakened the laicism of the Polish society, which was asleep for a long time.
By Gregory Tinsky
To be continued
To be continued
[1] Polish clergy
[2] Bitter stomach (Pol.)
[3] Nowadays this music is better known as a soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick’s “Space Odyssey 2001” and in Russia as the musical caption for the “What? Where? When?” intellectual TV-show
[4] According to that principle, if the state body fails to make a decision due to citizen’s application within 90 days, the decision is considered to be adopted in the favor of applicant
[5] Polish Military (Pol.)
[6] Polish clergy
[7] Polish People's Party
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