Although Andrzej Duda was 1 of the more scorned presidents of Poland, even in the political camp from which he came, 10 years of his presidency against the background of his predecessors are yet rather decent.
That message in the anti-PiS camp sounds offensive. AntiPiS would only be satisfied with Duda if it acted as if it had come from a liberal camp. Only that Andrzej Duda does not originate from this camp, on the contrary. He was exposed by the Law and Justice as a non-specially recognized and sentenced to be eaten by a candidate – without this decision 10 years ago he could inactive be a secondary politician from the European Parliament.
PiS besides campaigned for him 5 years later. Duda would never be president without this party, so it's hard to anticipate him to abruptly change the front at the request of a liberal camp. And in specified a context it should be assessed, not based on theoretical expectations and imagined realities. In real context and against the background of the predecessors of president Duda she was not at all bad.
Not specified a pen.
First of all, contrary to the opinion of the liberal commentariat, which calls Andrzej Duda a "long-script", the outgoing president was not at all inclined to sign anything that they suggested. Within first five years of presidency vetoed 9 laws, while his predecessor Bronisław Komorowski four. Duda vetoed small little than Aleksander Kwasniewski from 1995 to 2000, who vetoed 11 draft laws, but since 1997 they have functioned in co-habitation with the government of Jerzy Buzek.
In 10 years, president Andrzej Duda vetoed a full of 19 laws, i.e. in the second word there were 10 of them, of which 4 were projects by the United Right Government. besides contrary to the liberal opinion of the commentariat, Duda did not block projects of the current coalition as it goes. By June, out of 184 projects of the current government majority blocked only 13 laws – 6 in the form of a veto and 7 in the form of a mention to the TK, which de facto frozen them forever. The second was not honest on his part, but the stories of Duda preventing ruling reforms are a communicative of moss and ferns.
Moreover, Andrzej Duda vetoed respective very crucial laws for the PiS government – including the improvement of the ultimate Court and the KRS, which was to give besides much power to the lawyer General, or Zbigniew Ziobrze, over the judiciary. He besides blocked the improvement of the European Parliament's electoral legislation, which was to drastically reduce the number of districts, which would actually rise the 3% electoral threshold. "This would mean that in practice present in Poland only 2 groups would have the chance to gain a serious representation in the EP" – reasoned Then the president. Andrzej Duda besides vetoed a celebrated “lex TVN” that could force Warner Bros. Discovery to sale its Polish company. He most likely just did it under force from the Americans – but he did.
Internationally efficient
One of the main functions of the president is to represent Poland internationally. abroad policy is, of course, the competence of the government, but the president has a immense function to play here. Not only due to the fact that he nominates ambassadors, but above all he builds relations with the countries where the president is the head of the government. So with a very crucial USA, France and Ukraine for us. In addition, he usually represents Poland at NATO summits as head of the armed forces.
In this field, Andrzej Duda passed his exam. In fresh months, as in 2017–2020, he maintained a very good relation with Donald Trump. Of course, Trump is simply a figure worthy of the highest criticism, but this does not change the fact that he is the president of our main safety guarantor for the second time. Therefore, good relations with the American leader are undoubtedly an asset of Poland, no substance what 1 might think of him.
In the times of Biden's rule, coming from the camp of the other PiS, Duda besides managed to keep close and good relations. Like the Morawiecki government, especially after February 24, 2022. Duda's relation with Biden wasn't as friendly as Trump, of course, but it made them precisely what they should have been. Biden visited Poland twice in 2 years, Duda and the government besides accepted Kamala Harris, whose visit was held in a good atmosphere.
Besides, Duda built a very good, for a minute even intimate, relation with Zelenski Volodymyr. He visited Kiev with the president of Lithuania precisely on the eve of the Russian offensive, although it was already known that Russia could attack at any time. erstwhile the Ukrainian parliament visited him during the war, politicians greeted him with a roaring stone star and Zelenski with warm embraces. He has been a supporter of Ukraine's entry into NATO and the EU from the beginning, as he has repeatedly said.
When Kiev's relations with Warsaw became tense due to the influx of imports from Dniepr and blocking it by the Polish government, the relations of both became importantly cool. However, it was not Duda's fault, on the contrary, it was the effect of changing Zelenski's attitude. Duda patiently even abolished Zelenski's ostentatious exit during his speech at the UN. In the Volyn case, he acted very gently, according to the right hand he was submissive. What his liable attitude proved.
Quite conciliative.
Although it is apparent to which political camp The pipes closest and undoubtedly hard to call him president of all Poles, it was from all leading politicians in Poland that Duda was comparatively the least inclined to heat polarization. Of course, there have been sharp occurrences, but again – these matters should be considered in the context. And this 1 is that over Vistula we have a political war on knives – literally, due to the fact that the president of Gdańsk was publically stabbed. On both sides there are accusations of the worst crimes, including political murders or treason. Against this background, the president stood out as a plus.
Besides, he was initially keen to cooperate with the current government. In general, 1 of Tusk's biggest mistakes was going on short circuit with the palace, alternatively of trying to make a deal with it, which was possible. Duda consciously signed the In vitro Act immediately to signal the fresh coalition that he was open to cooperation. Strong animosities began only after the forceful takeover of public media by minister Sienkiewicz and the removal by minister Bodnar of national prosecutor Dariusz Barski, without the signature of the president.
Even then, however, he tried to keep a civilized atmosphere. An example is the appointment of Marcin Kierwiński as a restoration agent after the flood, for which Duda was amazingly warm, although Kierwiński was the head of the MMA erstwhile police entered the presidential palace, to wrap Kamiński and WąsikWhich was unprecedented. He besides went to the hands of the government on the occasion of the reconstruction, as he did not hold appointments nor the moment, although part of his camp urged him to challenge Waldemar Żurek as Bodnar's successor.
Not so partyy.
Although PiS opponents consider Duda to be a dog on Kaczyński's leash, this is evidently not true. Duda tried to relax his relation with the organization from the beginning and yet gained considerable autonomy. The evidence of this is not only a veto in a fewer crucial matters for the government of the Law and Justice, but besides a deficiency of direct relations with Kaczyński, who ostensibly disregards him, which compromises himself more than the president, acting like an offended child.
The company's membership besides shows that Duda's environment gained any autonomy from the Law and Justice. The appointment of Marcin Mastalerek as head of the Cabinet was even challenging to Kaczyński and the Scriptary verchuszko. Kaczyński, with reciprocity, hates him even more than Beata Szydło – that's why Mastalerek went out for a while. However, Duda drew him out of it and this to a very advanced position – the Mastalerka was even called "the Vice President". In 1 interview he besides stated straight that Kaczyński should quit already.
From 2022 to 2025 Jacek Siewara was the head of the National safety Bureau, who is besides outside the PiS environment. Moreover, he was very critical of this party. "President of Law and Justice Jarosław Kaczyński lives in a planet where his own people study to him false things, manipulated information and a bad image of the world," said Siewara in conversation with Konrad Piasecki. Ultimately, the erstwhile Head of BBN fell out of Duda's environment and was even a candidate for social advisor in a possible Trzaskowski's office, but in the palace the most crucial positions were held by non-PiS people – for example the head of the Chancellery of Małgorzata Paprock.
Within a circumstantial framework
Probably the biggest difference between Duda and Nawrock will be that the outgoing president did not go beyond his role. He did not effort to grow his powers, as did Lech Wałęsa, to whom the "legal interpretations" of Lech Falandysz served for this purpose. Duda fundamentally held on to his powers and did not enter the field reserved for the government. Of course, he had it so much easier that he worked with the government from his camp for most of the presidency.
However, during his current word of office, the Sejm besides did not enter the government's parade. Interference with the government occurs only erstwhile the ruling authorities have taken distant its powers, as in the case of the dismissal of the national prosecutor without the signature of the President. As a formal head of the armed forces, he maintained a very good relation with the head of the MON Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish. Only in abroad policy appeared the dispute over part of the ambassadorial nominations, in peculiar Bogdan Klich in Washington and Richard Schnepf in Rome.
From the beginning, however, it was known that both candidatures would be unacceptable for Duda, so the government is showing the same stubbornness here as the President. Besides, Klich is objectively a bad choice due to the fact that he will not build good relations with Republicans. Let us callback that he wrote on the X about Trump as a "unsustainable and disrespectful democracy of a politician". specified words about 1 of the most crucial politicians not only in the United States, but besides in the world, should delete the individual as a diplomat, and surely as an ambassador to Washington. Moreover, the thought of the presidential palace to make it intelligent and efficient Krzysztof Szczerski, the current ambassador to the UN (i.e. besides stationed in the US), changed places with Klich, is rather sensible.
In another abroad affairs, Duda did not go into the government's parade. First of all, it does not push itself to the EU summits, giving this field to the government. He distinguished himself from his mentor Lech Kaczyński, who fought the celebrated “war for a chair” with the government, which led to curiosity pictures at 1 of the summits and compromised Poland in the EU.
Seriously and sometimes loose
Despite the powerful polarization, Andrzej Duda could gain the assurance of Poles, which should be the main attribute of the President. For most of the candidacy he was definitely at the forefront of the ranking of trust. In July in CBOS study 53 percent of respondents expressed assurance in it, so in this respect he definitely "came out of the Pisan bubble". As the only politician in Poland, more than half of society has confidence. In comparison, Donald Tusk trusts 36 percent, Simon Holownia 37%, Kaczyński only 32 percent, and Vladimir Czarzaste 29 percent. In the liberal camp, the chief of the MFA Radosław Sikorski (44%) and the president of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski (44%) have the top confidence.
The dismissive Duda Tusk and Kaczyński in terms of social trust could so clean his shoes. Like in terms of social legitimacy, the results of the 2020 presidential election, erstwhile in the first circular he won as much as 43.5%, in the second circular – the evidence then 10.5 million votes, showed that he was able to gain broad support besides outside the PiS voters.
Andrzej Duda besides managed to prevent major accidents, although he had many crucial meetings and visits – after all he was president during the war with his neighbour. Against the background of Bronisław Komorowski, he was rather exemplary. Let us remind that erstwhile visiting the nipponese parliament, Komorowski called to General Koziej "Come to the Shoguns". In an interview with Barack Obama, Komorowski stated "if we are to go on a large hunt together, then first we must be certain that our home, our women, our children are safe," as if he were talking to a leader in Africa. Apparently, he's never seen a black man before.
Against the background of his predecessors, Duda falls out as a politician with his limitations, but at least he remains serious. However, he besides showed his ease a fewer times. He took up the pandemic challenge of #Hot16challenge and although his performance was weak, he did not deserve to be mocked as much as he met. After all, he could have given it up at all, the more so that the stiff Duda in rap fits like the Dead Wasp to the sobriety songs.
In addition, let us callback his celebrated words in consequence to Putin's atomic threats during the post-NATO summit conference. “There is simply a saying in Poland, ugly, don’t scare, don’t scare...” stated Duda, with difficulty suppressing the laughter that Luke Najder summed up outstanding "Putin: We have atomic weapons. Poland: don't crap yourself.”
In conclusion, of course, Dudzie can be pointed out quite a few incorrect decisions and controversial actions, which many another commentators will most likely do. However, it must be assessed in the context of Polish deep polarisation and against the background of predecessors. 1 must besides not forget that he became president as an under-experienced politician, and in his second word he faced the tremendous challenges he met. With all this in mind, I give him a solid 6/10. I wouldn't give any of his predecessors any more.
