Monday, February 02, 2009

Make PiS, not War!


Is the leader of Law and Justice (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski turning into a peace-loving hippy?

At the party’s congress at the weekend he said that Polish politics must end the squabbling that has so characterised it since 1989 and that it was time for the government and his party to “Make peace… Poles want peace.” Observers are wondering if Kaczynski has not been rollin’ and smokin’ a little too much wacky-backy, lately.

The party congress was part of a new initiative by Kaczynski to change Law and Justice’s image. And it needs to - recent poll results put PiS twenty percent or more behind Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform. So, whereas focus groups have been telling him that he and Law and Justice are seen as conflictual and aggressive, Jaroslaw and his merry band are now presenting themselves as people of reason, of consensus, of peace. A bit like...Barack Obama, perhaps?

But can Jaroslaw keep it up? He has been picking fights with communists, liberals, old colleagues from the Solidarity movement - and who knows; maybe even his pet cat? - for most of his life. So will the new Man of Peace image sit easily with him? Well, already he is struggling. Jaroslaw only gets out of bed in the morning to pick a few fights.

Prime Minister Tusk - who wants a cross party consensus on ways to fight the little spot of economic bother that Poland is now in, along with the rest of Planet Earth - wanted to turn up to the party congress and say a few soothing, almost presidential words a la Obama… “Now is the time when all Poles should come together...etc,” to the PiS party faithful. But Kaczynski refused to invite him to the congress, only to a side meeting after it was all over. “Civic Platform never asked me to one of their congresses,” grumbled Kaczynski today, slipping back into the old bruiser routine he does so well. “If the government wants cooperation then they have to get rid of all their propagandists…”, he spat, referring to Civic Platform’s much talked about PR machine and maybe even alluding to Janusz Palikot, who anoounced, yet again via his blog, that he was at the congress “in cognito” - although how anyone with his hair style can be “undercover” anywhere except at a blind old people’s home, is anyone’s guess.

But perhaps Jaroslaw has changed? Maybe old dogs can learn new tricks and old leopards can change their spots? Maybe his conversion to the ways of peace - a kind of Polish Dalai Lama - happened when he disappeared from the political limelight and media for more than a couple of months last year. But where did he go? Maybe to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury to hang out with what is left of the Grateful Dead and the rest of the flower power children generation, to toke on a few spliffs and wind daisy chains around the toes of Vladimir Putin…

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe he's going to turn out like Dennis Kucinich in the US and hook up late in life with a leggy, brilliant British babe ?

beatroot said...

the news at the moment is that Gosiewski, who was a right hand man of Jaroslaw Kaczynski is gonna get the sack as head of the party in parliament. He is not viewed well by the public. So Jarek is so determined to do something about PiS image he is willing to PURGE the party of unpopular elements...

they seem a bit desperate...Civic Platform has maintained popularity, in fact it has grown...despite doing not very much...

http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/news/?id=101574

Frank Partisan said...

The Yes We Can slogan is taken.

Why reduce the issue to personalities? Doesn't come down to program?

Anonymous said...

Pis is simply adapting they studied the polls and their making changes to meet the requirements of the market place. If the blue box doesn’t sell then paint it yellow. The mass marketing of consumer goods and the marketing of political parties in the western world are very similar concepts.

To the thinking individual actually having a well though out programs and policies wouldn’t hurt either. Notwithstanding Tusk’s lack of notable accomplishments, PiS hasn’t put anything on the table that would make it worthy of consideration as an alternative to the status quo.

beatroot said...

I think the PiS phenomenon is connected with the collapse of the Left vote in Poland. SLD were getting 40 percent and more of the popular vote. Now, collectively, and among many parties, they managed just 13 percent of the vote last time. Poles just do not trust them to deliver social justice and protect them from Polish Thatcherite’s like Civic Platform (although I think Thatcher would have done a bit more than they have so far..). So no left meaned those who voted SLD, because they thought they would protect them from rampant capitalism, then vote PiS. And those who voted SLD because they didn’t like the Church and the conservatism of Poland started voting Civic Platform.

At a time of relative economic well being - as it has been in Poland for the last few years - less will vote PiS and more will be economically liberal. They are also embarrassed by some of the antics of the Kaczynskis.

But now we are moving into a post-boom period and it will start to hit some Poles badly. And the rest, these days, expect that their living standards will improve. And they are not going to.

So how long will the popularity of the government survive? And when they get unpopular, an don’t “solve the crisis”, who are people going to switch their votes for then?

Anonymous said...

Twenty years after the round table it seems the last vestige of PRL political structures are finally disappearing leaving on the landscape only structures originating with Solidarity.

In the big picture it’s not a bad idea to have basically a two party structure where one is slightly to the left and one slightly to the right. Lets call it a maturing of the democratic process. Of course civility and consensus are still relatively unknown in Polish politics.

This likely reflects a general consensus in society that capitalism is good but needs to be tempered in order to attain a measure of social justice, this takes Poland along the path of a normal western country.

Now the question remains can Poland withstand the coming test of its new democracy? At present it has not been as drastically effected by the economic crisis because its financial structures escaped much of the damage but it will still face the slow down in the rest of the world in terms of weaker demand on it’s products. In addition it will be impossible to export the unemployed. This is exactly the time you need someone competent and creative at the helm.

Anonymous said...

That's a picture of Jarek, not Lech...
http://transubstantiation.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

fuck you beatroot
son of a bitch

michael farris said...

"Civic Platform has maintained popularity, in fact it has grown...despite doing not very much..."

Maybe _because_ it hasn't very much. Name me one Polish government that's lost support for not doing very much. Not doing very much is exactly what most Polish voters want (no matter what they may say).

Anonymous said...

さすがに、3回もNon US citizenと離婚していたら、今回の結婚はかなり面倒かもしれない。
いっそ、ハワイに二人で会社を設立して投資家ビザで入国して、グリーンカード申請と同時に結婚申請したら一番、怪しくないかもしれない。
NYでビザとるときも、やたら高い弁護士に頼んだけど、問題なくすぐにビザとってくれるから安心だった。
この件も弁護士に相談しよう。

Anonymous said...

やっぱり、2回日本人の女性と離婚歴があって、そのうえ、シンガポールのインド人と離婚歴があったら、怪しいと思って、ずっと入国ビザが出なくて、かなりまずいことになりそう。
それにしても、ナンジャとは年齢も釣り合わないし、かなり怪しまれたと思う。

それって、US Governmentにまでルイスは怪しい男だと思われて、私との結婚が大変になるってことかもしれない。

Anonymous said...

日本人が好きな犬とか猫って、頑固おやじみたいに威張っている奴かもしれない。

白い犬とか猫って、可愛いのと同時に第二次世界大戦のころの海軍の将校の制服みたいで、いいよね~

この白い土佐犬と、にゃらん、威張ってるおやじみたいで面白すぎ。
I want them!!!!

Anonymous said...

るいるい、
もしも、るいるいがRoman Catholic Churchから破門されたのなら、プロテスタントでもいいよ。
もし、お許しが出るなら、私もカソリックになるし、許してもらえないなら、二人で別のchurchに行けばいい。

Anonymous said...

ダメ元でお許しを頂こう。
Because you have made an public confession, which endangered your existance.

You have suffered and learned by now. 教会にお願いしよう。
私も洗礼を受けるから。
るいるいのままも、ぱぱも、喜んでくれると思う。

Anonymous said...

バチカンの大司教に、るいるいのこと、特別に恩赦してもらえるようにお手紙を書きたいと思う。

Anonymous said...

Thank you, honey.
Because we of the distance, I cannot fully express how much I care about you.


Hey, I really love you~
Please com out soon.
Good Night~

Anonymous said...

I wokd up this morning with deep regret as I have been wasted my precious time on silly play with someone, who seems to be just taking advantage of, as a free shirink.
I will tell you. I am not.
You will recieve the billof Billion dollers soon!

Bye now~

Anonymous said...

やっぱり、ルイスと時間を無駄にしないで、他の人たちと会って、結婚して、子供を持ちたかったな。
もう残された時間はわずか。
ほんとにノイローゼになりそう。
Why are you making me so miserable?
You stole eveything I had.
Now I have nothing left.
I claim you to return all I gave to you.

Anonymous said...

日本って、中国、ロシア、北朝鮮に囲まれている。韓国とかフィリピンとかグアムとかアメリカの軍事基地に近いし、それに、昨日TVを見ていて初めて知ったけど、イラクや中東では、沖縄は無人島で、巨大なアメリカの軍事施設があるところとしてとても有名らしい。

それにしても、こんな危険な地域に住んでいて、軍事力がないってどういうこと?
やっぱりまずいと思うのよね。
まじで、テポドンが怖くて、いけばなのレッスンをキャンセルしたりする人、いるみたいから~

Anonymous said...

正直なところ、15歳以上若く見えないといけないっていうプレッシャーはかなりあるかも。
独身であることと関係していると思う。

Anonymous said...

もう、こうなったらプチ整形?でもなんでもいいから、一生、I will stay as a anti-aging woman all my life~

Anonymous said...

19や20のころからずっと、「化粧品は何を使ってるの?」とか良く質問される。
I'll have both「お金をかけてきれいになるversion」and「お金をかけないできれいになるversion」の両方を研究している。
美容レーザーとかも試してみたいけど、これと併用して、お金をかけずにきれいになる美容法を独自に開発中!

Anonymous said...

大きなパーティーに行く時とかには、ボトックスはいいと思うけど、毎月ボトックス注射っていうのはかえっておかしなことになるような気がする。ま、女性としてはその気持ちはよくわかるけど、まれにだけど、副作用が出て注射をまりにも頻繁にしすぎてへんてこな顔になるケースがあるって、美容皮膚科の先生から聞いたことがある。
何事もほどほどに。

Anonymous said...

They say that Carla Bruni had plastic surgery on her cheek.
I can clearly see Naomi Cambell has suregered all over her face.

まじで、豆乳とかいちじくとか、サーモン、鱈(cod)などの魚介類とか鶏肉など、コラーゲンが多い食品+コラーゲンのサプリメント、multi vitamin tablets.
若々しくいたという気持ちは誰よりも強いと思う。

Anonymous said...

私の年齢で若々しくきれいでいるとか、子供を産むというのは、社会的に尊敬とあこがれを得るわけ。
20代前半だったら、きれい=頭からっぽ、
子供を産む=馬鹿な女、みたいに思われるのにね~

面白い。

Anonymous said...

出産恐怖症だった私が、るいるいと結婚して子供を産みたいと思うようになったのは、るいるいがいいお父さんになれると確信できるからだと思う。
だから、るいるいとは、このタイミングで出会えてほんとによかったと思う。

Anonymous said...

じょーじ・くるーにーは結婚しないと思う。
少し前にI heard that he was briefly married.

でもね、写真を見ても、どうも幸せそうじゃないし、なんとなくうまくいかないだろうな~、といoddうカップルで、やっぱりだめだったみたい。
それにしても、るいるいは、なんじゃにいつもヒステリーを起こして、怒り散らしていたのに、「今度の結婚はうまくいっているようだ」というのはどういうことなのだろうか?

ほんと、意味不明。とても不幸そう。

Anonymous said...

ヘアスタイルとか、なんとなく昔のDemi Mooreみたいし、やっぱり、ほんとに好きになれる女性に会えなくて、Demiに対抗してるとしか思えない。
ちょっと気の毒。

George Cloonyは、プレイボーイみたいに言われていて、実は純粋な奴だと思う。
結婚して家庭がある男性のお友達と遊んでいて楽しいらしいし、結婚は当分しないと思う。妥協して、結婚してひどい目にあったみたいし、よっぽどのことがない限りは結婚しないと思うな。なんとなく、その気持ちもわかる。

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