The meeting with Stanisław Michalkiewicz took place on Friday. Just under 30 people came to the music school auditorium. The main topic of the meeting was the search for an answer to the question, “When will the media be free?”
Stanisław Michalkiewicz spoke about the media and the media war, and also commented on the current situation in the country. “The media are supposed to argue so that we can form our own opinions,” Michalkiewicz said during the meeting. The columnist is not an advocate of democracy. “The weakness of democracy stems from the fact that each of us thinks they are prepared for it, whereas you even need a driving licence to drive a tractor,” the columnist remarked ironically. In his view, making decisions about the fate of the state requires appropriate knowledge and skills.
Controversial topics were also discussed during the meeting. Among other things, the columnist talked about how Radio Maryja destroyed the “media order” established during the Round Table talks. According to Michalkiewicz, the attacks on Radio Maryja are caused by supporters of the media “arrangement-order” from 1989.
Stanisław Michalkiewicz also answered questions. Among other things, he spoke about the electoral success of the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość party. In the columnist’s view, two factors determined PiS’s victory. One was the excessive bias of most media outlets in Poland, which supported Platforma Obywatelska. Voters decided to go against the media and voted for PiS. The second factor behind the victory of the Kaczyński brothers’ party was the support of Radio Maryja. As a result, PiS also gained support from the electorate of Liga Polskich Rodzin.
Stanisław Michalkiewicz was born in 1947 in Lublin. He is a lawyer and columnist for, among others, “Najwyższy Czas!” and “Powściągliwość i Praca.” His publications can be read on the interia.pl portal and he can also be heard on Radio Maryja.