A presidential anniversary is the perfect opportunity for a nationwide fracas. Every pretext is good enough to fill the airtime of public and nationwide media – it is a real feast for politicians. While Bolesławiec County is preparing for another "Parade of Love for Clay" (I like this description, as I am a retired cop myself) on the occasion of the Ceramics Festival, or rather a presentation of local authorities, at the national level politicians are hurling mud and verbal excrement at one another.
Karol, the “strong man” who divides us
On the one hand, we listen to and read about a “strong man” who will fight for us. We see film footage referring to the physical strength of the “leader” (Putin similarly cultivated his ethos as a powerful man). His opponents, however, portray him in an entirely different way. As Wyspiański wrote: “this is Poland indeed.” And here it is difficult to find any order. Let us focus on what matters to Poland and Poles. The truth—and here opinions are divided too, because in Poland even what is divided can still be divided further. There is nothing so divided that it cannot be divided, because we focus on what divides us, and everything divides us, while we avoid what unites us. Even what unites us also divides us. I think I have explained this clearly and can move on to my own assessment of the situation.
I will not favor any particular party. Once, when asked by one of the local journalists which political party I was aligned with, I replied that so far I did not trust any party enough to entrust it with guarding a parking lot full of wrecked cars. I do not want to offend anyone; I only want to express my current assessment of the Polish political scene. As it happens, I usually judge politicians not by what they say, but by what they do and how they do it—hence the “parking lot.”
Do I, as an ordinary citizen of this country, have a President of the Republic of Poland who was elected?
Returning to the anniversary of the “presidency” of Karol Nawrocki, hereinafter referred to as the President of the Republic of Poland. Once, during a meeting with Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland Monika Wielichowska and Deputy Minister Piotr Borys I asked them a question, explaining why I was asking it: Do I, as an ordinary citizen of this country, have a President of the Republic of Poland who was elected? (The people mentioned, and not only they, visibly widened their eyes.)
I explained: if there are serious legal doubts concerning the results determining the election of candidates, and if neither the National Electoral Commission nor the Supreme Court has taken an unambiguous position on the matter, could anyone have been sworn in to this state office? And if it did happen, do we have a President of the Republic of Poland merely by virtue of a swearing-in, or also by virtue of an election?
For a candidate to hold the office of President and have a real influence on legal processes taking place in Poland, two legal events must occur, in very broad terms: the legal election procedure must be completed (and it has not been), and the swearing-in must take place. I received no answer. I put the same question, but in much greater detail, to the Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, also asking whether it was a good thing that Mr Nawrocki does not sign bills. In my opinion, yes—because as a result there will be no need to withdraw them from the legal system if they were signed by an unauthorized person. Naturally, I received no answer, which only confirms that the law, as everywhere, simply does not work.
Weak laws gave us a “powerful” president
It does not matter whether someone likes Mr Nawrocki or dislikes him—the issue is Polish law. Polish law is in enormous chaos, largely devoid of logic, inconsistent with the applicable legal principles, and therefore unenforceable. That is what I write and speak about. If I—a ordinary citizen with only limited knowledge of this field—have a doubt bordering on certainty about a deliberate legal error, where are the lawyers? The next question, leaving Marshal Hołownia aside, whom—according to some media reports—someone may have pressured: what about the so-called National Assembly? Did anyone force its members to appear at the appointed time and place? They had a choice and could resist—actively or passively. Thus, we can speculate about what happened.
The wrecked-car park
We return to the confirmation of my “wrecked-car park” theory. Quite simply, the parties and the people associated with them in the higher structures of these organizations are engaged in what is known as a conspiracy and pretend both to care about the country and to be in mutual conflict. We have more or less open examples of widespread violations of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and ordinary law. We have examples of the organs of the Polish state being seized by lower structures of local-government power. We have examples of the absurd criminalization of our private lives and personal property, assigning society duties belonging to local-government and state institutions, and imposing tax burdens that may lead to the collapse of private property and households.
“Punching one another in the face” with little fists for pleasure
The effects? The effects are already tragic, namely: young people are leaving the country because they do not want to “fight” with an unpunished bureaucratic establishment and complex, antisocial laws. Another consequence is—and in practice already can be—the creation of conditions for violent groups, accepted by practically all political sides. Everyone sees it; there is only one difference: some justify, accept and excuse it, while others condemn and frighten people, but do nothing.
I return, however, to the role of the so-called President of the Republic of Poland. If he calls himself the “Guardian of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,” there is Article 13 in the Constitution. If it were applied, that “guardian,” in order to remain consistent with its provisions, would have to remove himself from office in addition to delegalizing half of Poland’s political groups.
I am personally passionate about history, and I know that a similar way of governing a state led to the greatest tragedy in human history. If physical strength replaces education or intelligence, we get violence and despair. Likewise, “punching one another in the face” with little fists for pleasure, shooting wild animals for entertainment, or other forms of violent entertainment are incomprehensible to me. Psychiatrists should be asked to assess such behavior.
I do not know how to put it: do we have an anniversary summary of Mr Nawrocki, or of the President of the Republic of Poland? How can I reconcile the two? I do not know, and I do not have to reconcile myself to it. As Shakespeare wrote: “You need not like my words, but there is the law...”