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The struggles of the Polish conservatives to retain power as much as possible after losing the elections, but also the process of taking over the government by pro-Europeans, were enjoyed as a public spectacle.
The works of the Sejm, a show that Poles watch at the cinema while eating popcorn
248 votes for „yes" and 201 for „no”. Two months after the parliamentary elections, in which opposition parties gained a majority, Donald Tusk was elected the new Polish prime minister. That day, one of Warsaw's cinemas broadcast the Sejm (the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland) proceedings on large screens. Over 500 tickets sold out in a few minutes - the audience sat in chairs with popcorn and prepared for big emotions, because it was not only about Tusk, who was elected head of the government, but first they could watch the easily predictable defeat of the current Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the collapse of his government, appointed only two weeks earlier.
The proceedings of the new Parliament have been a YouTube phenomenon in recent weeks. Just recently, the Polish news outlets announced that the Sejm of the Republic of Poland YouTube’s profile was awarded with a silver button for exceeding 100,000 subscribers. Now, the profile has over 600,000 followers and is jokingly – but primarily due to its popularity – called "Sejmflix". Even the BBC reported on the extraordinary popularity of the Sejm sessions in Poland.
What happened that these sessions, which had previously been considered "theatre", "series" (often, however, "circus" and/or "thriller"), suddenly became so spectacularly attractive, and as a performance they are considered something important, new and invigorating? Most commentators have no doubts – the new Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, is the culprit of all the buzz. Much is written about his composure, ability to respond quickly and accurately, personal culture, and extensive media experience (for years he worked as a TV presenter at TVN). All these are valid observations, especially when compared to the purely clerical style of his predecessors, devoid of humor and charisma. Social media is full of short videos showing his verbal fights with former PiS ministers and MPs. Most of them follow the same pattern: Hołownia calmly and with a smile refers to the rules of the procedure of the House of Parliament (e.g. reminding that a speech can last a maximum of 3 minutes), and a member of the ousted PiS party stands at the rostrum, red with rage, shouting offensive words. The speech of former Minister of Education Przemysław Czarnek, who declared that he wanted to deliver "one sentence note" and then unleashed a series of emotional attacks, was summarized by speaker Hołownia with the now famous bon mot: "Your definition of one sentence is not known to Polish grammar.”
Szymon Hołownia – currently the highest-rated Polish politician and already seen as a serious contender for the presidential office, the most important of PiS's remaining strongholds in the Polish state – has been the main figure of the pro-European alliance during the two months, following the October 15 elections, when Conservatives continued to cling to power.
After a decade in power, the conservatives forgot how to lose gracefully
Even though it was certain that PiS did not have the majority necessary to continue governing, Mateusz Morawiecki was given the mission to form a government by President Duda at the beginning of November. The extension of PiS's power was to give Kaczyński's party time to appoint a new president of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and find statutorily secured jobs for right-wing politicians. There was also an attempt – ultimately unsuccessful due to formal errors – to change the statute of public media, which was intended to prevent changes in public television and Polish Radio, which are now totally controlled by the PiS. Last, but not least, the controversial Commission created by the PiS government to assess Russian influence, issued in late November a report that recommended top politicians from the pro-European coalition, including Donald Tusk, who was poised to become the next prime minister, not to be allowed to hold top positions in the state. The report was dismissed as politicized.
It all culminated on December 11, when Morawiecki delivered an expose, which was also a farewell. In it, he declared himself the prime minister of 12 million people who voted in line with the PiS ideology in the recent referendum (non-binding due to low turnout). He also threatened citizens with the “evils” of the European Union and talked a lot about the past. Finally, he summed up the 8 years of PiS rule with these words: "We have changed the liberal Republic into a Solidarity Republic." 190 MPs voted for his government and 266 were against.
On the same day, the next prime minister was introduced. But before this happened, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, who clearly cannot accept defeat and the need to give up power, gave a speech:. “The Polish state will now only be an appearance, the procedures will be just a spectacle. We cannot agree that Polish independence is a historical incident". After 10 minutes (the parliamentary group agreed on the rules of the debate, according to which each speaker had 600 seconds to speak), speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia interrupted Kaczyński's and asked the surprised, disgusted PiS president to return to his seat. After a short break, the Sejm resumed its session and appointed Donald Tusk as prime minister.
Tusk: the departure of conservatives brings about “a national rebirth”
Tusk – who also headed the government from 2007 to 2014 – would present his vision to the MPs a day later, on December the 12th. He emphasized that the state must act differently. It is supposed to take into account different points of view, practice conversation and civilized dispute, "because this is the only way to reach good decisions in detailed matters." He thanked Poles who – although they often felt that it did not help or change anything – protested and demanded compliance with the law. He said: “What happened on October 15 is much more serious than a change of government. This is the culmination of the civic process and national rebirth of which we participated. Some are witnesses and some are opponents. (…) We want to build our future on our hopes, on our dreams. And expectations that turned out to be stronger than doubt and apathy.”
Tusk promised transparency and no sloppiness in the work of his government. "I can guarantee you that the legislative initiatives of the Polish government from the day we take office will be transparent, logical and rational processes" he said. Commentators accuse him of lacking specifics, but it seems that Tusk was quite consciously directing his words not to a handful of analysts and experts, but to the hundreds of thousands of people watching the parliamentary proceedings on YouTube, sitting in front of TV sets and in the cinema. He made Poles understand that he knows perfectly well that governing is not only about making decisions, but also about talking about them and being accountable for them. He also promised to rebuild friendly relations between the central government and non-governmental organizations. All these announcements may seem insignificant, but after 8 years of PiS rule, dominated by contempt for procedures, bending the constitution, revolutionary zeal and cynical populism, Poles want to believe that the government can act differently.
The most important topics of the speech in the field of foreign policy were Poland regaining its leadership position in the European Union, co-deciding on the shape of the EU, unblocking the EU funds, unwavering support for Ukraine combined with assertive care for Poland's interests and repairing diplomatic relations damaged by the PiS government.
Jarosław Kaczyński felt offended by Tusk's words – he stood on the podium and shouted: "I don't know who your grandparents were, but I know one thing, you are a German agent!”
President Andrjez Duda is determined to resist the change
On Wednesday, December 13, the swearing-in ceremony of the entire new government took place in a seemingly Versailles atmosphere. President Andrzej Duda has clearly decided to follow the new trend in Polish politics - set by the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia. He congratulated the winners of the "political process" somewhat convolutedly, but ultimately clearly, and was very polite. But after the ministers were sworn in, he delivered a skillfully prepared speech. Because although it was maintained in a rather elegant, conciliatory tone, it was literally stuffed with veiled threats and demands towards the new government.
In his speech, the president clearly marked his own territory. So there were phrases about the "joint" - by Duda and Tusk's government - "exercise of executive power". Duda acted as if it was his role to assign tasks to the government and individual ministers. He listed for several long minutes what the government should and should not do. However, he used empty phrases to describe these tasks, such as: "skilful conduct of European policy", "continuing modernization programs", "conducting a modern climate protection policy", "ensuring security", etc.
President Duda clearly emphasized that he intends to cooperate with some ministers (probably the heads of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) on a literally daily basis. Of course, the president has his prerogatives that require cooperation with each of the heads of these ministries, but they certainly do not oblige any of the parties to hold daily meetings or consultations. The fact that the president is demanding something similar from the very beginning should be at least a warning signal for the new government.
He ended his speech with the following words: 'I believe that Polish affairs are in very good condition today. I would like us to maintain at least the current level where they are doing well or very well," hinting that he is unlikely to agree to at least some of the reforms proposed by Donald Tusk's government.
