Agnieszka Wiśniewska: Why did Donald Tusk ask for a vote of confidence? Besides, to show that we may have lost, but we didn't lose.
Andrzej Leder: That was crucial. It covered the temper after the presidential defeat. Besides, Tusk wanted to see to what degree he could number on the PSL, the 3rd Road, possibly the Left. He wanted to make ranks. And that worked.
Doesn't this short circuit make you halt reasoning about the fact that you gotta draw conclusions from a presidential loser and propose something?
Even if there is no vote of confidence, and even if this crisis is much deeper, it is inactive very hard to change course. And the course was for attempts to take over the right-wing electorate. quite a few people, me too, said it wouldn't work.
Piotr Ikonowicz wrote in Political Critics: “Prime Minister, monkeying the far right won’t help. People inactive like to vote for the original."
Exactly. Why should individual vote for a dyed right, which is known not to be the right if they have the real one?
Why do you say it's hard to get back from that course?
Every organization and all political community is simply a kind of machine. This device has moved in any direction, and now unscrewing it, making people abruptly start talking completely differently, acting completely differently, will be difficult. I guess only Jarosław Kaczyński could establish this kind of discipline utilizing his texts to the PiS staff. And, as we know, not exactly.
So the language of threatening migration will stay with us?
Not only with migrations, but I will admit that as I hear Tusk saying about the Polish-Belarusian border, I am bleeding. besides all moral matters that were hard to decision on due to PSL will now be muted.
But in my opinion, there is simply a bigger problem, namely with the neoliberal DNA of Tusk's squad and with the deep conviction that it is essential to act so that the marketplace regulates everything.
500 or 800 plus they didn't cancel, they agreed to stay...
This is, unfortunately, reconciliation. Disgusting. PO politicians have learned that the social state in Poland is, it cannot be easy dismantled, but it is simply a tendency and specified a policy will continue. Thus, despite the fact that social housing, for example, will be promoted in the fresh coalition agreement, it will end again with credits subsidies.
Tusk accepts that ZUS cannot be reduced, but does not plan to importantly increase the wellness budget. People who want social policy will proceed to be disappointed, and on the another hand those who want to liquidate the state are besides disappointed – we know that quite a few people with more or little libertarian views have departed from Szymon Holownia due to the fact that he did not "bring" the taxation and Zusovian burden to be removed. And they went to the Confederacy. That's not good news.
Is there nothing you can do?
In order for the course of government to be substantially modified, Tusk would gotta stand up to the left.
Only which left?
The arrangement in which the left is biped, that is, the leg that is in the government and has any influence on legislative activity, and on the another hand, there is the opposition left that scores the government and can vote against it, is actually a very good arrangement.
Okay, this arrangement has any drawback at the time of the election, but in current politics it gives a chance for strong force from a 10 percent electorate. The Left should take advantage of this and push social policies, as well as cultural or moral liberalism.
The right refers to the strong identity attachment of Poles to tradition, homeland. But we know that this identity and values are changing, so the right uses the last minute erstwhile it's so important. He's taking good advantage of this moment.
Tusk and KO coalition besides mention to this identity and walk with white-red hearts.
In Poland, the only strong symbolism is national or patriotic symbolism. At the CODE marches, they all had white and red flags. They tried to make fresh symbols, usage music from the 1980s. They kept playing I love freedom.. But it yet didn't take. It has not become a universal symbol. Left tradition with Warsaw She didn't like who could sing tonight either. Warsaw? So we are doomed to a national anthem and white and red flags – everyone uses them, and that yet strengthens the right.
Out of nowhere's hope?
Very funny, but besides symptomatic and a bit touching was the story, like the Youth Climate Strike and those – then, in 2019 – fifteen-year-olds were looking for any song for demonstrations. Let us remind you that respective 1000 people came to the MSK protests on Friday. They did not want to sing an anthem or another "grandfather" things. They don't know them. And then it turns out that all this crowd of kids could sing together only Colorful wind from the Disney movie Pocahontas. They grew up on this movie and everyone knew and sang with Edyta Górniak that not everything could be bought with money. But by the way, it showed how immense a deficit of symbolism is in Poland, which could bring political orientation.
It is no coincidence that, at the end of the campaign, the symbol of supporters of Rafał Trzaskowski became the corals of Joanna Senyszyn.
Except that symbol won't last, of course. He's only gonna be active with this campaign, and he's gonna be active with this loser. On the another hand – and this is simply a political fact – 10 million people voted for an intelligent individual from Warsaw, it is not small.
But wasn't Charles Nawrocki's triumph to show the mediate finger to the elite?
The imaginary elites, due to the fact that the 10 million people who voted for Trzaskowski, they're not the elites.
Then who?
Firstly, Poland votes against alternatively than in favour. 10 million plus respective 100 1000 Nawrocki voters showed the mediate finger to the widely understood "libs", and these 10 million Trzaskowski voters showed the mediate finger to the "pathology". Secondly, the thickest breakdown strategy is large and medium-sized cities against provinces.
Poland is not unique in this respect. For example, we see this process in the United States. The average typical of the folk class, who has just been completely on the margin, does not deal with the Musk-type millionaires or even Trump. People like that can watch Kardashians on TV. all day they deal with a doctor they can't get to, and erstwhile they get to, he's got 4 minutes for them. With a lawyer who defends everyone but them. With a teacher who sets the hierarchy in the schoolroom so that polite and beautiful children sit in the front and their kid – in the last bench. And with another middle-class representatives, meritocracy who have real power over them. It's this mediate class that treats them by their legs.
Maybe it's the elite for the folk class.
Yeah.Millionaires don't care, sometimes you admire them due to the fact that they're successful, they have large cars and palaces. This kind of alliance has already happened in the past of Europe and besides the States, an alliance between oligarchy and the people, against the bourgeoisy that is inside. In France, at the time of the French Revolution, specified was the social cross-section of the rebellion in Wandea or during the civilian War. - South.
I've read quite a few post-election analyses, but I've seen small in them.
In Poland class reasoning does not function in mainstream discourse. But again, changing that is the function of the left.
Are the problems we are discussing typical of Poland?
Nope. The Global North is in a deep political crisis. Many times it was diagnosed that the global mediate class had forgotten about the labour or folk layer, that this layer had been deprived of work and dignity in connection with desindustrialisation, and that completely correct knowing that it was connected with neoliberalism and globalisation, it became nationalistic.
In addition, migration is specified a politically hard problem that fundamentally no 1 has a good thought what to do with this fant. due to the fact that even countries that conduct various migration policies — much better than Poland — do not cope. Even if previously arrived migrant groups integrate, fresh arrivals proceed to emerge.
Poland, therefore, belongs to the European mainstream, due to the fact that we besides have a immense problem in responding to these 2 fundamental crises: desindustrialisation, that is, that the folk class has abruptly become a class, from the point of view of the neoliberal economy, "unnecessary", and on the another hand, an influx of people from the Global South, to which the folk class responds paranoia; a belief in a "great substitution", that is, the conspiracy of elites, to throw them into the garbage can, and here bring the colored, more humble ones.
So what do we do about it?
The only answer is to renew the global left, internationalist, universalist, 1 that says: we have common problems and we will not solve them at the level of 1 country. For now, he rejects everyone erstwhile they hear specified demands. But it's a plan for a long march, for years, possibly a generation.
Adrian Zandberg For example, it does precisely the opposite. I feel that now the electorate is gaining, saying that we will deal with Polish matters, we will build large atomic power plants here. And that must be the point today. But acting locally, you gotta think globally. And forward-looking.
I've been watching over the years trying to build a left-wing, right-wing international. And both always had a problem with relations with Russia. The left-wing global yet argued about this after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The right is simply globally pro-Russian. Furthermore, this right-wing global is mostly the work of Russia, which funds and supports it in social affairs. The problem is that pro-Russianism is very trendy in many European and American societies. Like hatred for the United States, like South America. But paradoxically, for completely different reasons, besides in Poland. erstwhile there was trade with Russia, the full agricultural east of the country was better. Besides, Putin hates LGBT+ and refers to conservative Christianity. The right hand feels it well.
I agree that the minute of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine was critical to the full left. At the time, we had hair on our heads as we read the words of Western “communities.” But I think the time of the breakthrough was earlier. It was a change in the government of communication, or in short, the entry of large techs. On the 1 hand, they are presently a basic average of communication for young people who utilized to walk towards the left. Now that's changed, due to the fact that large techs are very powerfully promoting the right. Completely consciously, but there is something deeper, they advance a circumstantial modern passive individualism — they build an illusory sense of community not on principle: we do something together, only: we click together. erstwhile we combine the community of clicking with libertarianism, we get individualistic reasoning at the micro and seemingly community level at the macro level. The left has lessons in modern communication to do.
Zandberg and Biejat are doing it. Mentzen did it. Therefore, Zandberg and Mentzen's results among the youngest were so different from the results in the elder electorate.
This is simply a very crucial generational change. Duopol PO-PiS is inactive demographicly strong, due to the fact that representatives of 60, 70-year-olds are just more than young. Not for nothing we are called boomers – baby boomers, ci-z-big-boom-demographic. Nevertheless, the change follows and fresh political antagonism emerges. On the 1 hand, the Confederate, which is an alliance of tiemakers who want to destruct the state and those groups in the folk classes, who believe that if this state does not represent us anyway, it does us no good, why do we request it? This alliance will grow on the right. On the another hand, for the first time the young left has 10 percent. After all, Biedron in the erstwhile presidential election had 2%. Besides, even recently, the Left were post-PRLs who voted for the Ordynican. Now it's voters Biejat and Zandberg. And on the right, the Confederate is on the offensive, not the PiS and Czarnek. Anyway, Nawrocki and Czarek are actually the PiS Confederation. The fresh political generation is increasing and imposing themes.
That's what happened with housing. She started talking about him to the left, and then she heard her bang on the head due to the fact that it was PRL ideas. And then Tusk came forward and admitted that the flat was a law, not a commodity.
It is crucial that the young left throws topics into political debate. I was at a protest at the University of Warsaw about canteens. We gotta talk about universities being presently for wealthy children. And if it's from outside large cities, it's even richer, 'cause you request to rent a room, you request to hold on. Students without large means are in a dramatic situation due to the fact that apartments are expensive, food is expensive... And 1 must remember that societies where social mobility, the anticipation of promotion, disappears produce hopelessness.
Let us remind you why students protest at the University of...
...because they want a cafeteria! A very small extremist postulate, but the Chancellor said the cafeteria is unnecessary, due to the fact that you can buy food at many points around the college.
Strikes specified as the 1 at the University of Warsaw and earlier at another colleges, where for example, dormitories were fought for, make a fresh quality. People are organizing. They know the meaning of the social conflict. It's a affirmative attitude change. And good for the future.
**
Andrzej Leder — the philosopher of culture. He studied medicine and philosophy. He runs the Culture doctrine squad at the Institute of doctrine and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Book author: The transformation of myths, or life in the age of decline. An essay collection (1997); Unconsciousness as a Void (2001); Freudian discipline in the Age of Sein und Zeit (2007) and Figure on the pane (2016). For the book. A Dreamy Revolution (2014) was nominated for the Literary Prize “Nike” and the historical prize of Kazimierz Moczarski. Associate of the Institute of Advanced Political Critic Studies.
