MP Robert Obaz: What will Biedroń’s election as president bring us?

More than eight months have passed since the Left returned to the Polish Parliament. Left-wing MPs rank among the ten most active parliamentarians. Robert Obaz stands out in the Legnica–Jelenia Góra constituency. He is active in the Committee on Senior Citizens’ Policy, and is also a member of the parliamentary teams on the Future of Work and Local Government, serving as deputy chair of the latter. There is no doubt that nearly 527 submitted interpellations testify to the MP’s diligence in Parliament. In the constituency, meanwhile, he holds numerous meetings with residents, fighting, among other things, for schools threatened with closure in the region and for jobs for Polish cross-border workers. His constituency offices in Jelenia Góra and Legnica are open to everyone: people can come in, talk or report a problem.

Editorial team: – The first round of the presidential election is ahead of us. Has Robert Biedroń’s campaign team made use of every opportunity?

Robert Obaz: – It was certainly a difficult election campaign, taking place during the greatest epidemic crisis in decades. Robert Biedroń’s activity cannot be denied. Even during the complete lockdown, he tried to stay close to people. When it had already become clear that the economic crisis would be a natural consequence of the pandemic-related restrictions, it was Robert Biedroń who presented the government with ready-made draft laws concerning the protection of jobs.

In the crisis that appeared virtually overnight, our candidate and members of the left-wing coalition—Wiosna, Razem and SLD—pointed out that the government had forgotten millions of Polish workers in the Anti-Crisis Shield Act. There was no assistance for those working under so-called junk contracts. We witnessed radical changes concerning dismissals, sending employees on compulsory leave and reducing wages during economic downtime. Robert Biedroń was the first to say openly that these changes went in only one direction: they protected a narrow group of entrepreneurs and offered workers no guarantee of survival.

When the restrictions were largely lifted, Robert Biedroń was able to return to meeting people. It was during these meetings that he demonstrated his strength and presented policy proposals—proposals that, it must be stressed, are missing from, among others, Rafał Trzaskowski’s platform. Let’s be honest: a parrot repeating “Constitution” is not enough.

Why should left-wing voters vote for Robert Biedroń rather than, for example, Waldemar Witkowski of the Labour Union or Rafał Trzaskowski?

Some people want to win over the left-wing electorate, claiming that their programme and views are identical to left-wing values. Only after the election does it turn out that the promises were merely a marketing shell designed to attract a particular group of voters. The best example is Civic Platform. In the local elections, I myself advocated supporting the Platform’s candidate for mayor of Jelenia Góra. In retrospect, I can say that the Left’s support for a PO candidate in the local elections ended in disappointment and the Platform breaking its agreement on implementing a joint programme for the city. Naturally, only the Left suffered the consequences, losing as many as four councillors on the City Council. This is what happens when the left-wing electorate supports candidates from other political organisations. In other words, the left-wing electorate is shamelessly manipulated by the liberal right solely to gain power, and forgotten once that power has been secured.

The Left and Robert Biedroń hold consistent views on social and economic issues. We want changes that will genuinely put the principle of social justice into practice. Robert Biedroń says plainly: We live in a country short of 1.5 million homes. It is time to stop pretending that the private sector will change anything in this regard. We have millions of young people who are either too wealthy for social housing or too poor for a mortgage. Robert Biedroń wants to establish a state developer—is that a bad thing?

Consider that most housing estates in Poland were built when the state was building them. In Europe, a state developer constructing housing is nothing extraordinary. It is worth asking whose pockets we should protect. For Robert Biedroń and the Left, the answer is simple: it is time to protect the wallets of Polish women and men, for whom owning their own home should be as natural as being able to cast a vote in free and democratic elections.

You talk about abolishing junk contracts...

No one speaks as loudly about abolishing junk contracts. They are a pathology of our labour market. We are surprised that, despite the crisis showing the weakness of this type of contract, the government remains silent on the subject, as do the other candidates. The same applies to a minimum pension of PLN 1,600. We have thousands of pensioners living on less than PLN 1,000 a month, forced to choose between rent, buying essential products and purchasing life-saving medicines. Robert Biedroń does not accept the use in this discussion of an argument favoured by Polish liberals, who shout in the media that everyone is the architect of their own fate. Many people, especially during the period of economic transformation, accepted whatever conditions their employer offered. The choice was simple: either you did what the entrepreneur wanted or you became unemployed. Many people who spent years in the grey economy are feeling the consequences of the inadequacy of the Polish system. We have become accustomed to the state’s passivity. It is time for change; it is simply necessary. If we insist that the system works well, that will amount to perpetuating a systemic pathology, and that cannot be accepted.

How would Robert Biedroń implement his election programme as president if the United Right still holds a majority in the Sejm?

I do not know whether you remember Aleksander Kwaśniewski. He is the best-rated president in our country’s history. His strength was that he was able and willing to talk to every government about implementing his proposals. Aleksander Kwaśniewski’s effectiveness cannot be denied. The same applies to Robert Biedroń. If a left-wing politician says that he is open to cooperation and wants to implement a programme for Polish society, he will implement it. Robert Biedroń is exceptionally well prepared for this role. I am convinced that talks—even with a PiS government—on introducing the changes we are discussing would produce a positive result. The whole point is to focus on genuinely necessary matters rather than servility towards party bodies. Either one is head of state and represents everyone’s interests, regardless of political views, religion or sexual preferences, or one is a tool for approving laws that damage the state system.

Do you think publishing polls influences election results and that they should be banned? Polls currently indicate that Robert Biedroń will not make it to the second round—what then? Who should left-wing voters support?

In a free and democratic country, polls are a normal way of measuring political support and public sentiment. Some conduct better polls, others somewhat worse ones. Everything depends on the methodology adopted. Is the Left worried about Robert Biedroń’s poll numbers? Not necessarily. We believe in Robert. As you can see, the key lies in mobilising the electorate. Today, tensions between PiS and PO have once again been stirred up. In successive elections, we keep revolving around the PiS–PO conflict, fully aware that both parties have wasted years in brutal mutual battles. I am afraid that the discussion is moving away from policy and a vision for Poland’s future, focusing instead on gaining power for its own sake. That is frightening, because public debate is ceasing to care what this country should look like in another four, ten or twenty years. We are already facing challenges today that no one is talking about.

And what challenges affect our region?

A few weeks ago in Bogatynia, I organised a meeting concerning a petition against the closure of the Turów power plant and mine. Miners and local-government officials are aware of the need to carry out an energy transition. Today, however, residents of Zgorzelec County fear that the green transition will be carried out overnight and that Bogatynia and its surroundings will become another Wałbrzych. The Left supports an energy transition that is responsible and well thought out. PiS and the Platform, meanwhile, have left these people uncertain; no one knows what will happen to these jobs in six years. These are challenges that no one wants to discuss during this campaign. Difficult issues cannot simply be swept under the rug. Solutions must be proposed while there is still time. I am afraid that the rival candidates do not take this approach to important social issues.

As for the question of the second round of the election: the time to answer it will come after 28 June. Believe me, there may still be surprises next Sunday.

The Left is backing Robert Biedroń. What problems will the future president have to solve?

We need a president who will actively support residential construction. Poland is currently short of more than 1.5 million homes. Many of us cannot even afford a studio flat. In the country in which we live, we are either too poor for a mortgage or too wealthy for social housing. More and more people rent homes for amounts that would be enough to pay a monthly mortgage instalment, or live with their parents. This problem affects more than 40% of Polish women and men. Robert Biedroń stresses that the time has come for a state developer. The state should demonstrate strength and effectiveness in this area so as to provide millions of young people with affordable rental housing.

We have discussed housing policy, but what about healthcare, whose shortcomings we were able to see during the epidemic? What about older and chronically ill people—does the healthcare system recognise their problems?

The Left and Robert Biedroń are there where healthcare fails older and sick people. They stand with all those suffering from chronic illnesses whom our state denies access to specialist and innovative medical therapies. After turning 65, our parents and grandparents increasingly face restricted access to specialists. Instead of becoming shorter, queues are getting longer. Today, it is increasingly difficult to see a specialist through the National Health Fund, while the alternative is simply too expensive for many pensioners and disability pensioners. In a country of 38 million people, there are only just over 400 geriatricians. Can we therefore feel safe? At programme conferences and meetings with people in Wałbrzych, Wrocław, Jelenia Góra, Poznań and many other Polish cities, Robert Biedroń tells us all one thing: it is time for the state we all agreed upon. A state that guarantees equal access to a doctor for everyone, regardless of age or the size of their wallet. It is time for a state that finances healthcare at a safe level of 7.2% of GDP.

Finally, a question about pensions. At the beginning of the Sejm term, the Left submitted a bill on a minimum pension. Why should it be introduced?

Robert Biedroń will work to introduce a guaranteed pension of PLN 1,600 and link it to the minimum wage. Today, hundreds of thousands of pensioners have to live on less than PLN 1,000 a month. They often have to choose between paying bills and buying basic necessities and medicines. The Poland of our dreams is a country that genuinely puts Article 2 of the Constitution into practice by implementing the principles of social justice. That is why we encourage everyone to vote for Robert Biedroń on 28 June.