"As you can see, everyone has a price" — this bitter comment by Krzysztof Bosak on Sławomir Mentzen's gathering with Rafał Trzaskowski is not just a tip on the nose of a organization colleague. This is simply a clear suggestion: Mentzen leads a double game. Either he's already getting along with the Citizens' Platform, or at least he's allowed to do so, as long as he pays for it politically.
Mentzen's conversation with Trzaskowski took place in 1 of the Torun pubs belonging to Mentzen. The recording was posted by Radosław Sikorski, signing it with a neat slogan "For Poland, which connects, does not divide". It looked like a soft-promotion agreement over divisions. The problem is that Mentzen voters don't buy this narrative. In their eyes Trzaskowski and PO this personification of the establishment, which was to be settled, not tamed. So erstwhile they saw their leader at 1 table with the enemy, they did not fall on their knees. I think they caught their head.
Krzysztof Bosak, commenting on the case in Channel Zero, did not hide the irritation:
"I would not go to the end of a run with politicians of another organization for beer, especially in a public place, due to the fact that it is apparent that it will be politically used. As you can see, everyone has a price.”
It's not just criticism of carelessness. It's a charge that Mentzen is calculating. That he's playing chess with the Platform due to the fact that he believes that in the long run, it's worth it. And that's where this calculation is worth looking at.
Contrary to appearances, Mentzen may have found it more profitable not to enter the coalition with PiS, even though this organization won the final election. Why? due to the fact that he thinks the PiS is in the end phase today. They lose power, lose influence, interior conflict builds up. Mentzen may presume that the Kaczyński organization will disintegrate or transform. And then the Confederate can take her place — as a fresh right-wing force, clean from “eight years” and scandals.
In this context, it is besides worth looking at the case of Karol Nawrocki. Mentzen abstained from giving his support. Why? due to the fact that why save a man associated with the Law and Justice, erstwhile his political disappearance can only strengthen the message: “Confession is not the Law and Justice. We are different.”
This may not be political realism — it is political cynicism.
However, there was something that might have changed the rules of the game. A recording of a gathering at the Mentzen pub that shows the reaction of his own fans and customers. alternatively of enthusiasm, consternation. In comments: disappointment, misunderstanding, and sometimes pure anger. And they're not left-wing trolls. These are his men.
So possibly Mentzen miscalculated the mood. possibly his calculation — that the electorate will swallow pragmatism, that only the consequence counts — is detached from reality. In politics, it's not adequate to number votes. We inactive request to know who gives them.
Bosak said it violently, but honestly. Everyone has a price. The problem is that voters do, too. And if Mentzen looks like individual who's selling his rules, the voters will be putting him on a bill faster than he can negociate a fresh coalition.
