Polish Politics and Elections

[The Dowager Mod]

I was hoping the guy who isn't a Fascist dictator wannabe would win. 

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I was hoping the guy who isn't a Fascist dictator wannabe would win.  

Duda isn't really a fascist dictator wannabe. He is a rubber stamp President, doing whatever a real wannabe Orban tells him to do. This is why many call him "the Pencil Man".

As much as I hate Kaczyński for political reason, I do have some begrudging respect for him as a strong individuality. Duda has no individuality.

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

I was hoping the guy who isn't a Fascist dictator wannabe would win.  

Duda isn't really a fascist dictator wannabe. He is a rubber stamp President, doing whatever a real wannabe Orban tells him to do. This is why many call him "the Pencil Man".

As much as I hate Kaczyński for political reason, I do have some begrudging respect for him as a strong individuality. Duda has no individuality.

Also please, PiS is winning the elections rather fairly so any comparison of the to the fascists are just plain stupid. I wouldn't even compare them to Orban because they are at least pretending to be pro-labour and pro-social while Orban would do anything to appease German automotive companies, also destroying labour code. They are probably not the nicest party in Europe but do not use so farfetched comparisons. 

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I was hoping the guy who isn't a Fascist dictator wannabe would win.  

Duda isn't really a fascist dictator wannabe. He is a rubber stamp President, doing whatever a real wannabe Orban tells him to do. This is why many call him "the Pencil Man".

As much as I hate Kaczyński for political reason, I do have some begrudging respect for him as a strong individuality. Duda has no individuality.

Also please, PiS is winning the elections rather fairly so any comparison of the to the fascists are just plain stupid. I wouldn't even compare them to Orban because they are at least pretending to be pro-labour and pro-social while Orban would do anything to appease German automotive companies, also destroying labour code. They are probably not the nicest party in Europe but do not use so farfetched comparisons. 

I've recently had an interesting conversation with a guy who's uncomfortable with many things PiS is saying (the "LGBT ideology", for example), but still voted for Duda because PiS actually did "something" in the "social sphere". Even if those were a half-assed measures clearly designed to gain electoral support, like the famous 500+. When some lemings are pushing the "PiS is just buying votes because of handouts" talking points, they're only strengthening the support for PiS.

Of course calling PiS "left-wing economically" is plain absurd, just as uninformed people are thinking PO is a "liberal" party in American sense.

[CumbrianLefty]

Ah well, the bad guys win again.

well not really they are both right-wingers. and it's always nice to see disgusting donald tusk on the losing side.

Ahem, but I do actually know this.

However even Tusk is preferable to Orban(ism) at the end of the day.

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

One nice thing about this result: we won't have to go through the circus a special mayoral election in Warsaw would be guaranteed to turn into.

[libertpaulian]

Would Duda have won if Poland had an electoral college?

[M0096]

Trzaskowski would have won 373-187. Even without Mazowieckie Trzaskowski would have won 297-263.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

well not really they are both right-wingers.

What the flying f**k Duda is if not a right-winger?

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

Trzaskowski has announced today he wants to build a social movement he referred to as the 'New Solidarity'. This is possibly the most Polish liberal intelligentsia thing imaginable.

well not really they are both right-wingers.

What the flying f**k Duda is if not a right-winger?

No, he's saying both Trzaskowski and Duda are right-wingers.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Trzaskowski has announced today he wants to build a social movement he referred to as the 'New Solidarity'. This is possibly the most Polish liberal intelligentsia thing imaginable.

well not really they are both right-wingers.

What the flying f**k Duda is if not a right-winger?

No, he's saying both Trzaskowski and Duda are right-wingers.

Ooops.

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

One nice thing about this result: we won't have to go through the circus a special mayoral election in Warsaw would be guaranteed to turn into.

My ing God, I can't even imagine Kaleta or Jaki running now - sh**tshow guaranteed.

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

One nice thing about this result: we won't have to go through the circus a special mayoral election in Warsaw would be guaranteed to turn into.

My ing God, I can't even imagine Kaleta or Jaki running now - sh**tshow guaranteed.

Kaleta v. Kierwinski/Halicki v. Zandberg v. Korwin. That is all.

[Astatine]

Have seen several polls on Europe Elects now in which a Rafal Trzaskowski party was included. To anyone from Poland: Is this a legit thing or just a hypothetical scenario? Does Trzaskowski intend to break with PO?

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

Have seen several polls on Europe Elects now in which a Rafal Trzaskowski party was included. To anyone from Poland: Is this a legit thing or just a hypothetical scenario? Does Trzaskowski intend to break with PO?

Very hypothetical, this is as for now not a political movement, rather dependent on Civic Platform NGO and still not existing, yet

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

Szymon Hołownia's Poland 2050 now has its first MP in the form of Left MP Hanna Gill-Piątek, who was, for a time, the manager of Biedroń's presidential campaign.

As someone who has heard quite a few stories about Gill-Piątek, I would at this point like to say 'lol' and wish Hołownia the very best of luck.

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

It's hard to tell if it's real or just brinksmanship, but the government might be on the brink of collapse over, of all things, animal rights.

After Duda won re-election, the first item on PiS' to-do list was a major government reshuffle to reduce the number of ministries (which, to be fair, have been multiplying at a bizarre rate under Morawiecki, it's hard to keep track of what some of the current ones are even supposed to do), which would have meant cutting their two coalition partners, Zbigniew Ziobro's Solidarna Polska (fash tendency) and Jaroslaw Gowin's Alliance (Thatcherite tendency), who currently hold two ministries each, down to size. They obviously hated this and fought like hell to retain their ministries, which was a non-starter for PiS. It seemed a compromise had been reached wherein they'd get one ministry each as PiS wanted but get additional posts in the Prime Minister's office, but events have intervened.

First, PiS tried to push through a bill that would grant immunity to any government official who had committed a crime if they could argue that crime had been committed in order to fight the pandemic. Ziobro, who has been waging war against PM Morawiecki for a long time now (a court ruled the other day that Morawiecki had broken the law by trying to organise an all-postal presidential election before a law allowing for it had been passed) refused to support the bill, and it was pulled from the parliamentary agenda yesterday, much to Kaczynski's displeasure.

Second, they committed themselves to a big animal rights package, including a ban on fur farming and major limits on ritual slaughter (which will now be allowed only for domestic consumption). Kaczynski is a noted animal lover, so his personal quirks and the desire to win over more moderate voters actually coincided for once. Ziobro and Gowin were against this, while PSL and Konfederacja smelled blood in the water and pounced on the opportunity to outflank Kaczynski. In the end, the bill passed with the support of PO and the Left, the Minister of Agriculture (who voted against) is considering resigning, and PiS politicians are now publicly hinting that the coalition may end over this.

[Velasco]

It's good to know that Kaczynski has some redeeming qualities, although loving animals is not incompatible with hating humans different from you

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

14 PiS MPs who voted against the bill (including the Minister of Agriculture) have been suspended from the party and 'sources close to the Prime Minister' are briefing that Ziobro may be fired next week. There are also rumours that Ziobro was having prosecutors look into Morawiecki's business dealings and activities in the private sector before he went into politics.

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

Cezary Tomczyk, Trzaskowski's former campaign manager and anointed candidate of leader Budka, is the new leader of PO's parliamentary caucus, having easily defeated Tarnów MP Urszula Augustyn. I am from Tarnów, so I am obviously very displeased at this turn of events. This is a defeat for Schetyna, who seems to be doing a Miller and overtly plotting to take back the party even though most people would rather not hear from him for a good long while.

I would mention what's happening with the PiS/United Right crisis, but nobody actually knows. Kaczynski, Ziobro and Gowin held a press conference the other day announcing they'd come to an agreement, but refused to reveal anyone what that agreement actually entailed. There's heavy briefing to the effect that Kaczynski will enter the government as a deputy prime minister without portfolio 'overseeing' the Interior, Justice, and Defence ministries, but considering this didn't happen the last 5200 times it was floated I'll believe when I see it. Depending on who you ask, this would either be a massive humiliation of Morawiecki (who would be reduced to the role of a puppet) or a strengthening of his position in the party (because Kaczynski will have put a lot on the line personally to prop him up as his successor). That should tell you how utterly opaque all this is. Oh, and the Minister of Agriculture, who is still suspended from the party, is telling anyone who will listen that PiS are now a 'neo-Marxist' party, so I'm guessing a defection to PSL or Konfederacja is in his future.

Oh, and the Left is doing something about regional congresses and policy discussions? idk, not even I can bring myself to care at this point, which should explain why they're polling at 6%.

[H. Ross Peron]

Restricting "ritual slaughter" seems directed at Muslims and singles out Jews as well, though I guess its fine provided domestic production of such meat is allowed.

[CumbrianLefty]

Restricting "ritual slaughter" seems directed at Muslims and singles out Jews as well, though I guess its fine provided domestic production of such meat is allowed.

Given that this is Poland, the latter might be at least as much the target as the former?

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

Restricting "ritual slaughter" seems directed at Muslims and singles out Jews as well, though I guess its fine provided domestic production of such meat is allowed.

Obviously PiS do not care very much about Muslims or Jews (except for those MPs who are particularly influenced by the industry, who are all for selling to them), but ritual slaughter was already restricted for a few years under PO (the Constitutional Tribunal eventually struck the restriction down). That was explicitly criticised by the Israeli government at the time for its impact on the Jewish community - the exemption for domestic consumption is clearly a compromise to avoid such controversy.

[PSOL]

https://twitter.com/TerryReintke/status/1311232324844085248?s=19

I’m awaiting the complete collapse of Lewica.

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

Finally, Poland has a new government.

- Kaczynski joins as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of 'national security', i.e. overseeing the Defence, Interior and Justice Ministers and settling disputes in the government.
- Jaroslaw Gowin returns as Minister of Development, Technology and Labour - Labour being split off from Family and Social Policy specifically so it can be given to Gowin, Thatcherite bastard he is. Oh joy.
- The Ministry of Education is merged with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and is given to noted homophobic moron who became a university professor through blatant nepotism, Przemyslaw Czarnek.
- The Ministry of Agriculture goes to Grzegorz 'who?' Puda, who was apparently the government's point man on the animal rights reform.
- The Climate and Environment Ministries are merged (why the hell were they ever separate) under current Climate Minister Michal Kurtyka.
- The Ministry of Sport is merged with the Ministry of Culture under current Culture Minister and Deputy PM Piotr Glinski.

https://twitter.com/TerryReintke/status/1311232324844085248?s=19
I’m awaiting the complete collapse of Lewica.

As usual, you know nothing. Spurek was against the whole Lewica project from the start and quit Wiosna two weeks after the 2019 election for that reason. What she does has no bearing on Lewica, and even if it did she wouldn't be any great loss anyway.