Agata Kornhauser-Duda during her husband's 10-year presidency attended many meetings with the most powerful politicians in the world. Source: Wikimedia Commons. licence – Public domain. Author – The White HouseWe have a presidential election waiting for us on May 18. We will make a democratic decision on who will become head of state. There is another change – the spouse of the winning candidate (or candidate) will cross the Belvedere threshold. Before we know the name of Agatha Kornhauser-Dudy's successor, let's think about what she and her predecessors stood out for. Let's see how they handled society's expectations.
In the Second Republic, the wives of the Polish presidents were referred to as “presidential ladies”. This was the title of Maria Wojciechowska and Michalina and Maria Muscicki. For the first time in Poland, we are dealing with the title “first lady”. Since then, this word has been recorded in our consciousness, which is simply a calculus in English. It was formulated by Zachary Taylor at the ceremony of Dolley Madison, wife of 4th U.S. president James Madison. Taylor, as the then president, wanted to honor Madison in this way, which served as her function for over 12 years. He said, "She will never be forgotten, for she was our first woman for half a century. But let us focus on the realities of our homeland.
Is this a bad time?
For Danuta Wałęsa, household was the priority. As a teenager, she had to handle her younger siblings. After graduation, she started working at a flower shop. That's where she met Lech Walesa. He visited this place by accident to change the money. He shortly became a regular at the store. He and his husband had 8 children. erstwhile her husband performed politically as president, she was in charge of raising children. After winning the 1990 election, Danuta Walesa did not decision to Belvedere. The then president was not curious in politics, she claimed it was the domain of men. About her husband running, she found out from the media. During her word of office, she did not participate actively in public life, standing in the shadows. She accompanied her husband only during authoritative ceremonies. She had a tiny share in charity actions, e.g. as part of the Foundation "The Workers Otherwise". Although in the 1990s the first woman did not like to appear in public, the situation changed after 2011, erstwhile her book "Dreams and Secrets" came to light. Since then, she has been giving interviews, participating in social initiatives and continuing her charity work. She was not afraid to take a stand in support of abortion and in vitro.
Your husband's successor?
– The advantage of acting as president is excellent cognition of abroad languages, cognition of diplomatic protocol, ability to freely converse on political, economic, social and cultural issues," noted Prof. UAM Dr. Iwetta Andruszkiewicz, manager of the Centre for investigation on Women's Participation in the Public Area of UAM. It's a general description of what the expert put forward about what the president's wife should stand out for. There is no illusion that according to our society, it describes Jolanta Kwasniewska. The female rapidly learned abroad languages and showed large cognition of diplomatic protocol. She was the hostess of many global meetings, so she was able to accept Elizabeth II in class at the gates of Belvedere. During her first presidential campaign, she avoided public appearances, she was not certain what her husband and thus her. 1 of her achievements was to run the foundation “Understanding without barriers”, which helps, among others, children with neurological diseases. The biggest accomplishment of this institution was the dedication in 2005 to the usage of the Hematology and Oncology Department for the Medical Academy in Gdańsk. After 5 years of presidency, she found out how much she had already done, and how much things were inactive waiting to be realized, without hesitation in 2000 she supported her husband in the fight for re-election. She chose a strategy to travel in smaller towns to scope the local voters. How she gained sympathy for her fellow countrymen is best evidenced by the fact that she was considered as 1 of the candidates for president in the 2005 election, as suggested in "Politics". The curious organization explicitly refused this proposal.
A Brave Advocate of Compromise
Maria Kaczyńska, like her predecessor, was fluent in 4 abroad languages. This allowed her to freely represent the country on the global stage. quite a few courage was shown erstwhile she spoke out against the construction of the road that was to run through the Rospuda Valley, the country's largest valley bog without traces of human activity. This thought came from the PiS, which is why quite a few consternation caused the boycott of this thought by the wife of the president from this party. She powerfully defended the compromise around the anti-abortion bill, which was not acceptable to politicians from the organization of the then president. Kaczyńska was besides a caring wife, and frequently the tabloids presented her in a negative light. Making regular paper reviews and keeping an eye on the president's business calendar was considered excessive by commentators. She was not allowed to live to see the end of her word – the presidential couple died in the 2010 Smolensk disaster. Before she left, she stressed that she absolutely did not regret the years devoted to the function of first lady.
Action above all
After the Smolensk disaster, a small friendly political atmosphere prevailed, making the function of the first woman even more difficult. Anna Komorowska succeeded the late Maria Kaczyńska. She felt that the president should be as independent as possible due to the fact that he was a typical of the full nation. She co-organised pilgrimages with the families of the victims of the disaster of April 10, 2010. She besides attempted to mediate with nurses who peaked in the Sejm in 2011. She was peculiarly close to many children's families and scouting due to the fact that she is the parent of 5 children and a erstwhile scout. She spoke positively about the introduction of paternity leave. She did not shun support for women who, after giving birth, wanted to return to work. Komorowska is 1 of the first ladies to usage her function in the right way. “It is worth noting that it is the first woman who decides what function she chooses, but social expectations affect her activity with support for women,” says Prof. Andrushkiewicz. .
Does he have his views?
The current president – Agata Kornhauser-Duda – graduated from German philology, after which she taught German in 1 of Kraków's advanced schools for 17 years. Interestingly, she comes from an highly left-wing household – her father always supported the opposition. In the PRL, he even signed Letter 59 against changes in the Constitution. Nevertheless, she is married to a man who belongs to the main representatives of the right-wing party. It performs its duties by carrying out typical tasks specified as accepting delegations or participating in abroad visits. What is her undoubted asset is excellent presence. Fashion experts, specified as Daniel Jacob Dali, have frequently stressed that he is simply a large designer. The aspect that touched any citizens was its inactivity in 2020 erstwhile a complete abortion ban was to be introduced. Despite the force of feminist, leftist-liberal and her predecessors, the present first woman has not yet spoken on this issue.
– In Poland, the activity of each of the first ladies was varied, but the common denominator was and is representing Poland on the global stage," noted Prof. Iwetta Andruszkiewicz. However, it is worth to be aware and to compare how the erstwhile ladies utilized their chance at different levels. This will aid us to measure the 1 that will cross the Belvedere threshold for the first time in the second half of this year.
Julia ZYGMUNT
