Elections and Politics

On 30 September 2023, the guest of the Polish thought Club in Łódź and the Roman Dmowski Club was Dr Mateusz Piskorski, who presented a study on geopolitical issues in the context of upcoming elections.

According to Dr. Mateusz Piskorski, Polish politicians have small influence on global policy and, in geopolitical matters, external centres make decisions. These centres frequently affect Poland in destabilising another countries, as demonstrated by our country's interference in Belarus. According to the speaker, in addition to the rhetorical and symbolic layer, Polish abroad policy is not independent and is mostly “contracted policy”. Of course, Polish politicians are trying to make the impression that Poland is an crucial player in the global space and is itself shaping its abroad policy.

In this regard, they frequently mention to patriotic rhetoric, utilizing different sentiments and prejudices. This is, for example, a ‘frightening Russia’, which is presented as a real threat on the 1 hand and, on the another hand, ridiculed as ‘a ellipse on clay legs’, which is illogical in itself. Furthermore, according to the speaker, there is no single centre coordinating Polish abroad policy, and the abroad Minister Zbigniew Rau does not show greater autonomy and initiative in shaping this policy.

According to the speaker, the pro-war rhetoric of the ruling camp is peculiarly dangerous. In the authoritative narrative, the war in Ukraine is portrayed as something positive, a kind of conflict of good against evil. A romanticist image of war is frequently cultivated, despite the tragedies and sufferings of average grey people. All this leads to the fact that for the public the demands of not engaging Poland in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and calling for the defence of peace are not understandable.

In the context of the upcoming elections, Dr. Mateusz Piskorski expressed skepticism that the election consequence had any effect on the current policy. Even if the opposition wins, the general guidelines and direction of abroad policy will stay unchanged. This is mostly due to the fact that Polish policies form environments derived from "Solidarity" – dependent on the West and consistently implementing the Atlantic option. Unfortunately, this direction was besides accepted by groups with a different pedigree (e.g. Left), whose leaders did not make an alternate abroad policy vision, in contrast to their counterpart in Slovakia – the SMER organization under the leadership of Robert Fico.

It should be stressed that the gathering with Dr. Mateusz Piskorski was not a "accademic lecture", but was a lively discussion with many guests who were eager to ask questions and even disputed with the speaker. This confirms the request for akin meetings by Polish thought Clubs in another cities and regions of Poland.

Michał Radzikowski