On May 23 in the small town of Września, pre-elections to the European Parliament were organized. This was a test: who will win and with what kind of turnout? The most important politicians flocked to Września.
 |
Damian A. Zaczek: Can you, people of the democratic West, understand our attitudes? |
|
DAMIAN A. ZACZEK
managing editor
e-mail: editor@decisionmaker.pl
The first weeks of Polish membership in the European Union have passed rather calmly. Of more importance is the political bargaining surrounding new Prime Minister Marek Belka. Aside from President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and a few dozen SLD deputies, no other parliamentary club intends to support this candidacy and therefore the new government. Feverous consultations are in progress. It is difficult to be a prophet in one’s own country and at the same time describe what shape compromise will take or whose concept will achieve success.
Our monthly is directed toward decision-makers in the EU. For you it will be of more interest to find out how Poles are reacting to the fact of EU membership.
On May 23 in the small town of Września, pre-elections to the European Parliament were organized. This was a test: who will win and with what kind of turnout?
The most important politicians flocked to Września. Polish voters were treated to Polish specialties – pea and żurek soups. Behind the kettledrums, ladle in hand, was Marek Siwiec, head of the National Security Agency and candidate for euro-deputy from the left. It turns out that all political parties treated elections to the EP as a test in preparation for Polish parliamentary elections, which may take place in the fall or the spring of next year. The test didn’t go over well.
Pre-election turnout was a mere 12.1 percent. The highest support was recorded for Citizen’s Platform (PO) at 21.1 percent. Further places were occupied by Samoobrona (Self-Defense) with 18.4 percent, Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) together with the Labor Union (UP) at 11.3 percent, the Social Democratic Party (a leftist party founded only a few weeks ago) with 9 percent, Law and Justice (PiS) at 8.4 percent, Freedom Union (UW) at 7.3 percent and League of Polish Families (LPR) with 6.8 percent. The Polish Peasants’ Party (PSL) – the only peasant party – failed to cross the election threshold with only 3.9 percent.
As you can see, pre-election emotions were not too high. Poles are more interested, for example, in whether prices will rise and if so, then which products? It turns out that the avalanche of price hikes didn’t occur, although in a few cases prices rose by a few or more than a dozen percents.
Since we’re talking about opinion polls, let’s turn our attention to what Poles think about the recent history, or in other words the communist period.
Three of the largest private media institutions: Gazeta Wyborcza, TVN television and Radio Zet conducted a poll which reveals that the late communist leader Edward Gierek (who rule Peoples’ Poland from 1970 to 1980) is the most popular figure among Poles today. The question: Which leader after WWII did the most for Poland? Gierek received 46 percent of the votes. In second place was Lech Wałęsa with 39 percent and in third president Aleksander Kwaśniewski at 26 percent. Behind these three men were Tadeusz Mazowiecki (the first non-communist prime minister) with 20 percent and General Wojciech Jaruzelski (introduced Marshal Law in 1981) at 16 percent.
Other questions from the poll indicate how strong nostalgia for the Peoples’ Poland really is. A significant majority of those polled admitted having more time, friends and security during the communist period as well as…more money and meaning in life. A majority also believes that at that time there were fewer…lies in public life. Respondents admitted only one advantage – now we have more freedom.
Can you, people of the democratic West, understand these attitudes?
One more thing. For some time it is known that our Western neighbors – the Germans – have been doing their shopping on the Odra border river. Currently there is even more of them and product assortment is growing. Even the number of cars. It turns out that in Poland cars with foreign makes (including German) are 20 percent cheaper. In order to save falling profits on the strategic German market, most auto concerns are raising their prices in Poland. Opel reduced the price margin between Poland and Germany on its model Vectra by one-third. Nearly all motorization concerns have undertaken similar steps. Only Fiat has announced that it will not, for the time being, equalize its prices with countries that for years have belonged to the EU.
And that’s Poland today.
