The presidential election is approaching. It was scheduled for this year, but not under such dramatic circumstances and not in June, but in October. The Smolensk Tragedy, however, changed all the scenarios and wrote its own. It ploughed through the consciousness of Poles, but also eliminated two very important candidates from participating in the election – the incumbent President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński and the SLD candidate Jerzy Szmajdziński.
Life abhors a vacuum, and new candidates were selected to replace those who had died tragically. PiS chose the twin brother, while SLD chose its chairman. As we know, 10 candidates joined the electoral peloton. It might seem that this number guarantees a wide choice. But that is not the case at all. Upon closer examination, it is clear that there are two heavyweights: Bronisław Komorowski and Jarosław Kaczyński, while the rest are political plankton.
Contrary to appearances, however, the total number of votes cast for this plankton—or not cast—may decide the election result in the first round. That is why my family and I will vote for Mr Bronisław Komorowski at this stage. More importantly, I encourage and urge all left-wing supporters and those who oppose PiS and its candidate to vote this way.
Those who know me better will probably say that Burniak has hit his head hard in his old age or suffered some other stroke. But no. My choice is rational—for many reasons. First, Grzegorz Napieralski will not win this election anyway. In fact, he will not even make it to the second round. So why waste your vote? It is better to support Mr Komorowski and enable him to win the election at the first attempt. Especially since all polls show that in a possible second round, 90% of the left-wing electorate will vote for Mr Komorowski. There is another reason why I will not vote for Mr Napieralski: the unacceptable media coalition with PiS. Moreover, Grzegorz Napieralski is only 36 and can run many more times for the honour of becoming the first citizen of the Republic of Poland.
The second argument for Bronisław Komorowski is the man himself. Bad luck meant that he had to assume the role of President of the Republic of Poland much earlier than he wanted or planned. In my opinion—and I hope not only in mine—he passed this test with distinction. I am not referring to whether he shed a tear during the funeral ceremonies or not, or whether he radiated empathy. The accusations levelled against him by some media outlets and politicians are lies and part of the election campaign. From the moment he assumed the duties of President of the Republic of Poland, Marshal Komorowski presented himself as a true statesman: a responsible and balanced man, thinking not only in terms of the upcoming election campaign but also about the future consequences of his actions. He made decisions, including personnel decisions, that were essential and necessary for the good of the State and its continuity. He consistently stands by this despite attacks and spite from PiS.
It is also significant that he is in good physical condition. He can endure considerable physical exertion for a long time. He handled the entire marathon of farewells to those who died in the crash extremely well. I attended the funeral of the deeply mourned Jerzy Szmajdziński and observed Mr Komorowski from a distance of 1–2 metres. His manner, despite his fatigue, impressed me. I am therefore certain that, if elected President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski will be the president of all Poles, or at least of a significant majority of them.
Third, I do not want Jarosław Kaczyński to become president. He represents forces that assume a priori that some Poles are better and others worse, and that only he and his team possess secret knowledge and a monopoly on assigning them to one group or the other—with no possibility of appeal. I cannot accept his suspiciousness and confrontational nature, particularly in relations with our neighbours. To me, Mr Kaczyński embodies the saying, “Give me power and I will arrange your lives for you.” I do not believe his new image presented in the media. It is merely camouflage. His election would push Poland back into Europe’s provincial backwater, with all the consequences that entails.
The fourth and final argument for choosing Mr Komorowski in the first round is economic. If we succeeded, we would save a considerable amount of money. These funds should finally be used to purchase aircraft for transporting the country’s authorities, because as a Polish citizen, I am ashamed that my representatives fly “on barn doors,” and we saw the consequences of that near Smolensk.
Of course, local elections will follow the presidential election, and parliamentary elections next year. In those elections, one can and should vote according to one’s convictions and political sympathies.
Józef Burniak