Posted: 22.01.2025 12:52:00

Polish chaos and madhouse

As soon as the Marshal of the Polish Sejm announced the official start of the campaign to elect Andrzej Duda’s successor, chaos has embraced the Polish political scene

It took just a couple of days for the so-called struggle between Civic Coalition’s Rafal Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki from PiS to resemble a big mess. Both are losing in the polls and currently have almost equal support: around 22-23 percent. The former is ‘sinking’ because of his ultra-liberal and rosy excesses and poor management by the Tusk team, while the latter lacks a programme, charisma, quality, people, money, and also has a lot of unresolved moral and legal problems.

An interesting situation is developing with regard to the political groups that are in opposition to the two major parties. The Confederation, which has so far nominated Slawomir Mentzen (albeit without convening a congress), is trying its best to rally around its candidate. The difficulties are partly due to the fact that this candidate has just brought Robert Winnicki – who, according to persistent rumours, molested young members of the National Movement party that is part of the Confederation – out of political oblivion. Therefore, it is not surprising that the decision to nominate a second candidate from the same background was clearly forced. Grzegorz Braun decided to take this step, and there is no doubt that he is one of the most eloquent, rhetorically strong, and charismatic of all the candidates. However, at the same time, the man is extremely contradictory. His anti-Semitic antics have become somewhat legendary for his staunch supporters, but objectively speaking, they cannot be justified by anything: anti-Semitism is unacceptable in any form. An example of such outrageous actions is the incident on December 12th, 2023, when he extinguished the Hanukkah menorah in the Sejm with a fire extinguisher, causing a scandal and condemnation from other politicians.

The complete absence of sane candidates in Poland, who base their programmes on social justice, peace, security, family values, development, and above all on restoring dialogue with all neighbours, is alarming and, in a sense, frightening.

It seems that there are simply no normal people left in the Polish political arena right now. The existing ones seem to be competing with each other in promoting homosexuality, in the struggle against their own history and values. The main candidates are losing support, and serious disputes are breaking out around small groups. In a word, chaos and a madhouse are reigning. 

The Polish elections are likely to be tense and unpredictable, and the political situation in the country is far from stable. In the absence of clear leaders, Poland's future seems very uncertain, and society may be forced to choose between less than ideal options.

The contrast with the situation in Belarus could never be stronger than it is now. The Central Election Commission, responsible for holding the Presidential election of the Republic of Belarus, has repeatedly stated that the current election campaign is proceeding calmly, meaningfully and without failures. Moreover, it is characterised by the respect and high level of personal and political culture, transparency of the electoral process for observers, and security during the important pre-election days.

It is great that Belarusians can elect their President in normal and calm conditions, and that’s what Poland and other Western countries could use as an example to follow – but they will never admit this truth.

It is not excluded that Belarus may face massive external pressure in the coming days, but I am sure its people are mentally prepared for this and will demonstrate at the polling stations their willingness to defend their homeland, its peaceful development, independence, and sovereignty.

By Davide Carbonaro