POLAND AT THE TIMES OF TUSK
CZESŁAW RYSZKA
It depends on us whether we will live in Poland of our dreams.
With the end of the year, the rainbow is going to disappear from the Square of Redeemer in Warsaw. There were often protest at it, it has been set on fire 7 times, recently in the beginning of December 2014. In this place, it became the symbol of a fight pursued by gender-ideology, homosexual, and leftist groups with Christian values, mainly with marriage and family. The fight of ‘the rainbow with the cross’ has been described in thousands of articles, and even in books. The title of the newest book by senator Jan Maria Jackowski ‘A rainbow instead of the cross’ with a note: ‘Poland at the times of Tusk’ refers to it. The book includes a collection of weekly columns written in the years 2006-14 in ‘Our Journal’ commenting on important Polish and foreign issues, revealing scandals and depravity weakening the condition of the country. They also write about new ideologies fighting with Christianity, whose symbol is the mentioned rainbow. What image of Poland governed by the Civil Platform party and the Democratic Leftist Alliance for 8 years is presented here, how was Donald Tusk fulfilling his function of the prime minister and how has Ewa Kopacz been fulfilling her function of the prime minister for a year?
Senator Jackowski writes that the past eight years were a lost time for Poland – we did not make a good use of a great chance for modernization of the country. Economic development was artificially stimulated with EU means, not always used in a thoughtful way. The level of Poland safety got worse, our position in the EU also became weaker. In the issue of energetic safety, very little was done, and an evidence for much incompetence and inability of the government of Donald Tusk is building the gas terminal in Świnoujście, which was to make Poland dependent on Russian supplies of gas (according to the report of the National Control Chamber from March 2015, devastating for the government of the Civil Platform and the Democratic Leftist Alliance, implementation of this project was a complete defeat; completing this strategic investment was postponed several times, and, as a result of next delays, our country will probably lose vast means from the EU).
Is it better under the reigns of Ewa Kopacz? Unfortunately, the first actions of the prime minister did not presage anything good. Her presence at the EU summit meeting during which climatic-energetic policy was discussed, announced by media as a success, is a complete defeat. The prime minister agreed to decarbonization of economy, and costs of the climate packet, if it is implemented, are enormous and will permanently weaken our economy. Specifically speaking – reduction of carbon dioxide emission by 40 percent, till the year 2030, within the European emissions trade system means radical strengthening EU climate policy. The agreement also envisages that participation of energy from the Renewable Energy Sources in a complete usage of electrical energy for the whole EU will be at least 27 per cent in 2030.
All this means an attack on coal mining in Poland and energetics based on coal, and, in consequence – a radical energy price increase also for many energy-consuming branches of our economy.
There is no decline in unemployment, whereas there is a mass economic emigration of young Poles. The social stratification got deepened, one can see a demographic decrease, the break-down of medical care and pension system, debts towards the state and citizens got higher. The dramatic condition of the state is perfectly proved by a statement of the former foreign minister Bartosz Sienkiewicz who said sincerely that ‘the Polish country exists only theoretically’. And there is also this ‘march of people governing illegally’, that is, enforcing acts against values expressed by most Poles in the Seym and Senate – and it is not only a symbolic but it is a real fight of the ‘rainbow with the cross’.
I will add that after the election of president Andrzej Duda, there appeared a providential moment to reverse it all. Poland is a country of great potential and possibilities – writes Jackowski. Poles are creative, can work but are governed in a wrong way. It depends on us whether we will live in Poland of our dreams. We can read about it all in the book by J. M. Jackowski ‘A rainbow instead the cross’, published by the Foundation ‘Nasza Przyszłość’, e-mail: wydawnictwo@fnp.pl).
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„Niedziela” 35/2015