Across Poland, there are politicians who behave like absolute rulers. We owe it to freedom and media diversity that we know their true faces. Local authorities, however, take unlimited advantage of the opportunity to present themselves in a good light, because no one scrutinises them as closely as the nationwide media do. At Wednesday’s session, Councillor Józef Burniak called for the return of extensive reports on council proceedings to local television, so that residents could assess for themselves how councillors and officials work. It turned out that Piotr Roman does not want people to see what happens during the session and what governing the city looks like.
Councillor Bogusław Nowak asked why the city’s press officer, Agnieszka Gergont, was not fulfilling her duties and, despite a request from the Boleslawiec.org portal—which wants to inform people about city events free of charge—was not sending it an events calendar. The press officer admitted without embarrassment that “it could be described as discrimination.”
Bogusław Nowak also asked about public money that the mayor gives to the media. No one knows the rules according to which this happens. The mayor spoke at length about the media, but did not provide any figures. When a Boleslawiec.org journalist asked after the session why there were no transparent rules for spending the money, the mayor replied that he did it “a bit guerrilla-style.” It nevertheless seems that Piotr Roman himself revealed at the session the principles that guide him. He spoke about the so-called “dividing up the pie,” insinuating that this was the intention behind a Boleslawiec.org journalist’s approach to him. It is possible that Piotr Roman is convinced that public money is his pie. “As long as I am here, we will not [ogłoszeń – dop. red.] publish this on the Boleslawiec.org portal,” the city mayor announced at the session. He made it clear that he is the one who divides the pie and gives pieces to those who obey him. The mayor is dissatisfied because critical opinions from readers appear on the Boleslawiec.org portal.
The atmosphere at Wednesday’s session was heated. Councillors and the mayor frequently argued. Below, we present excerpts from the session that you certainly will not see on local television.
(KG report)