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Soriek  11mo ago (text post)   1881 thread views

Transnational Thursdays XXX

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Poland

A follow up to the TT from two weeks ago on PiS PM Morawiecki being allowed to form a government as the top vote getting party. He has now (to nobody’s surprise) failed a vote of no confidence by 266 to 190, bringing an end to Pis’ long dominance.

With the formalities out of the way, this paves the way for Donald Tusk to be sworn into power, with 248 votes in favor vs 201 opposed in his first vote.

Besides rebuilding bridges with Brussels, Tusk’s campaign pledges included promising to allow abortion – subject to a near-total ban under PiS – until 12 weeks, declaring termination, IVF and contraception fundamental rights, and allowing civil partnerships for same-sex couples…

Brussels has withheld billions of euros in Covid-19 recovery funds in an increasingly bitter row over Poland’s rule of law, and has required reform on issues such as judicial independence and green energy.

Tusk has now officially been sworn into office with his cabinet:

Tusk’s Cabinet includes a former foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, taking up that role again. Adam Bodnar, a respected human rights lawyer and former ombudsman, was tapped as justice minister, tasked with reversing the previous administration’s actions that gave it more control of the judiciary.

Tusk named Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, an experienced politician and agrarian party leader, as his defense minister. For Kosiniak-Kamysz, 42, Poland’s security is safeguarded by its membership in NATO and the EU. In the face of war across Poland’s border, he has vowed to focus on strengthening the defense potential of the armed forces.

The new culture minister is Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, a former interior minister under Tusk and the great grandson of “Quo Vadis” author Henryk Sienkiewicz, a winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. His first task will be to free state media from political control that the previous government exerted.

Also

The confidence vote was delayed when a far-right lawmaker, Grzegorz Braun, used a fire extinguisher to put out the candles of a menorah during a Hanukkah celebration dedicated to Poland’s Jewish lawmakers of the 1920s and 1930s.

what?

Radek Sikorski

lol

he is well known for "Thank you, USA" tweet he posted after Russia's Nord Stream 1 and 2 exploded.

sadly, he may end with more such high-quality and careful diplomacy

Yes, he has a strong tendency to speak quickly and without much forethought, which is especially bad for a diplomat. That's why I don't put him in the first row of polish politicians, he is too careless, otherwise he would be truly heavyweight player. But his very impressive bio speaks for itself. I hope that Sikorski, as a conservative will counterweight left-leaning ministers in the new cabinet. Otherwise we would have the most woke government in the history of Poland.

His kids may become American politicians, his wife is Anne Applebaum

His first task will be to free state media from political control that the previous government exerted.

and put under control of a new one, again

and put under control of a new one, again

I so fucking hate being right. One party called "Law and Justice" and was fiddling with laws as much as they could, opposition complained all the time and harped on about following rules and went already off the rails with media takeover. And PIS proudly defends pro-PIS propaganda station as independent, while opposition will just take it and turn into own propaganda tube.

I had almost no expectations whatsoever and I am still disappointed.

Bunch of clowns and alternative is bunch of cretinous pro-Russia clowns. Really.

Do you have any general predictions for the coming months / years under the new government?

Not really - but I do not expect influence in any direction that would require changes to my life.

I just hope they will not screw up things to much in fields like real estate (so far basically all parties have stupid ideas how to handle rising housing costs, all will make things worse - and there is one party that had actually sane proposal but they are bunch of cretinous clowns[1]), energy, economy in general, Russia, EU, immigration, smog etc

[1] like that guy with fire extinguisher

what?

this description undersells level of chutzpah involved. Example video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5-P4opDdIcw (with overlay from some random TV station, but well... Yes, music is as recorded.)

got quite strong reaction (Sejm gave the highest internal penalties like docking 6 months of pay, part of subsidies for running office and so on, there is possibility of criminal charges)

and yes, far-right is justified here. He is a leader of monarchist party for start.

Any suggestions maybe as to which parties we can expect to form the future governing coalition?

It's Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition, the centrist Third Way, and center left/left wing (appropriately named) The Left. All of them in turn are alliances of smaller parties but have been behaving as united fronts.

coalition is formed already

The confidence vote was delayed when a far-right lawmaker, Grzegorz Braun, used a fire extinguisher to put out the candles of a menorah during a Hanukkah celebration dedicated to Poland’s Jewish lawmakers of the 1920s and 1930s.

The sheer level of chutzpah involved makes him an honorary Jew, by linguistic transference.

Henryk Sienkiewicz

I very much adore his Trilogy. Recommended reading; great fun if you're into historical adventures.

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