Today's State of Play

POLITICAL STATE OF PLAY: President Recounts Germany's Ban on Chopin During WWII; Janicki: Centrist Fascination with the President Could Decide the 2027 Election Outcome

Łukasz Mężyk

-- DURING WORLD WAR II, WHEN GERMANY, THE OCCUPYING POWER, FORBADE THE PLAYING OF FRYDERYK CHOPIN, AND ADHERED TO THIS VERY STRICTLY – SAID PRESIDENT KAROL NAWROCKI DURING THE LAUREATES' CONCERT: “In two years, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Chopin Competition, which, Ladies and Gentlemen, has been held cyclically for 100 years. With one exception – during World War II, when Germany, the occupying power, forbade the playing of Fryderyk Chopin, and adhered to this very strictly. So, today, on behalf of Poland, Poles, and the Republic, I would like to invite all of you, wonderful creators, whom I congratulate once again, to Warsaw for the XX Chopin Competition.”

-- THE PRESIDENT ON CHOPIN'S SUCCESS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: “I am glad that this competition, Ladies and Gentlemen, is also achieving such wonderful results in the digital world. This shows that there is still so much ahead of us, of Poland, of Fryderyk Chopin, of young creators – although I say 'young' with a slight reservation, because when I look at the experience of young people, Ladies and Gentlemen, I find it hard to believe they are young creators – so much still lies ahead of us in the narrative about Fryderyk Chopin. Long live this great virtuoso, long live Poland. Thank you very much, Ladies and Gentlemen.”
https://www.prezydent.pl/aktualnosci/wypowiedzi-prezydenta-rp/wystapienia/wystapienie-prezydenta-rp-podczas-koncertu-laureatow-xix-miedzynarodowego-konkursu-pianistycznego-im-fryderyka-chopina,109077

-- ADAM ABRAMCZYK: A very good speech by President Nawrocki at the closing of the Chopin Competition.
https://x.com/adam_abramczyk/status/1980725389854113796

-- CIESZYŃSKI CITES SIEMONIACK: TUSK WANTS YOU TO THINK HIS FAMILY WAS SPYED ON. IT'S A LIE AND MANIPULATION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/pl/live

-- ONLY 26% OF COALITION VOTERS RATE THE GOVERNMENT DECIDEDLY POSITIVELY - UNITED SURVEYS FOR WP: "How do you assess Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government?" – this was the question asked to participants in a survey conducted for WP. In total, 11.2% of respondents chose the answer "decidedly positively." Among voters of the ruling coalition (Civic Coalition, Poland 2050, PSL, and The Left), this figure was 26%, and among opposition voters (PiS and Confederation) – 2%. Only 2% of voters from other parties rated Tusk's government "decidedly positively." The answer "rather positively" was chosen by 24.3% of respondents (ruling coalition voters – 58%, opposition voters – 2%, other voters – 20%).”

-- PERSISTENT LACK OF TRUST AND DIFFICULTIES IN BUILDING BROADER SOCIAL SUPPORT – WP WRITES ABOUT THE SURVEY RESULTS: “In total, Donald Tusk's cabinet is positively assessed by 35.5% of respondents. And although over one-third of respondents perceive Tusk's government positively, the structure of negative assessments (especially "decidedly negative") indicates a persistent lack of trust and difficulties in building broader social support.”

-- 40% OF UNDECIDED RATE THE GOVERNMENT NEGATIVELY - FURTHER US FOR WP: “52.8% of people rate Tusk's government negatively – of whom 38.7% rate it "decidedly negatively" (ruling coalition voters – 0%, opposition voters – 67%, other voters – 40%) and 14.1% rate it "rather negatively" (ruling coalition voters – 15%, opposition voters – 11%, other voters – 20%). The answer "don't know/difficult to say" was chosen by a total of 11.7% of respondents (ruling coalition voters – 1%, opposition voters – 18%, other voters – 18%).”
https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/zle-wiadomosci-dla-premiera-tuska-tak-polacy-ocenili-rzad-7213295829937088a

-- GROWING FASCINATION WITH THE PRESIDENT AMONG CENTRISTS COULD DECIDE THE 2027 ELECTION OUTCOME - MARIUSZ JANICKI IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “The right wing is making Karol Nawrocki a huge star, which is not surprising. However, a significant portion of the other political side, as seen on social media, is also showing increasing fascination with the new president. This could decide the outcome of the 2027 elections.”

-- PRAISING NAWROCKI IS MEANT TO SERVE AS A WARNING AND IMPULSE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CAMP TO TRY HARDER, YET IT IS EVIDENT THAT THIS CONCERN IS INCREASINGLY LESS DISTINGUISHABLE FROM GENUINE ADMIRATION FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT - CONTINUES THE FIRST DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “And although this praise for Nawrocki is ostensibly meant as a warning and an impulse for the democratic camp to try harder, it is evident that this concern is increasingly less distinguishable from genuine admiration for the new president. Many of those who previously supported Trzaskowski and the ruling coalition may now, out of contrariness and frustration from the KO candidate's defeat, be praising Nawrocki with visible satisfaction. However, this contrariness is becoming increasingly subtle, and the appreciation for Nawrocki's marketing is shining through more, which ultimately merges with an appreciation for the object of these PR efforts themselves – that he is so quick-witted.”

-- THE MYTH OF THE MASTERS FROM PiS HAS RETURNED, THE NATURAL WINNERS WHO TEMPORARILY LOST POWER MERELY DUE TO NEGLIGENCE - STILL JANICKI: “We are again hearing that 'we have learned nothing,' that fielding Trzaskowski was a terrible mistake because he is a panicker, that Sikorski would also have failed, being the 'heir from Chobielin,' and that the era of simple boys from the neighborhood has arrived, and that Jarosław Kaczyński once again knows more about Polish society. The raised heads from two years ago seem to be drooping again. The myth of the masters from PiS has returned, the natural winners who only temporarily lost power due to inattention.”

-- IT IS TRUE THAT NAWROCKI HAS A VERY TALENTED TEAM OF ADVISORS WHO MOVE WITH GREAT EASE WITHIN THE SEGMENT OF THE TRADITIONAL RIGHT-WING AUDIENCE - FURTHER MARIUSZ JANICKI IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “It is true that Nawrocki has a very talented team of advisors who move with great ease within the segment of the traditional right-wing audience. This efficiency is so effective that it also works and makes an impression outside of this bubble. However, this method, rhetoric, and these tactics cannot be transferred one-to-one to another political ecosystem. The right wing has its specific language, which is only credible when performed by the appropriate individual from the same circle.”

-- PiS IS BENEFITING FROM THE TRAUMA OF THE DEMOCRATS. AN ORGANISM IN DEPRESSION IS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INFECTION – THIS ALSO APPLIES TO POLITICS - FURTHER THE FIRST DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “Indeed, in a sense, the end of history has arrived, and the time of farce, chaos of values, and political circus has begun. After October two years ago, it seemed that events had a logical progression: PiS being detached from power, then a change of president, and the renewal of the democratic system. This line has broken, because suddenly Nawrocki appeared from that old PiS world and, by way of shock, began to organize the imagination of the other side as well.”

-- JANICKI HAS COINED A NEW TERM – USEFUL UNINFORMED: “Perhaps, therefore, the effect of this 'centrist' fascination with a president who is himself very far from the center is already visible in these results. It looks like an old phenomenon – to put it mildly – of useful uninformed individuals who participate in building a foreign legend, believing they are serving the interests of their own political environment.”

-- JANICKI ON THE CLEVERNESS OF SZEFERNAKER AND BIELAN, WHICH MAY ENCOUNTER RESISTANCE: “If Trzaskowski had won the election, PiS would have made his life hell from the very first moment, just as Tusk is constantly experiencing. There would have been no question of any admiration or appreciation for his wife, because the right-wing electorate is politically aware, does not succumb to hostile takeovers, and knows what it wants. However, there is still some time until the parliamentary elections, and perhaps this time the cleverness of Szefernakier and Bielan, who are pleased with their new ingenious project, will finally encounter strong resistance.”
https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2319303,1,nawrocki-superstar-nie-tylko-z-prawej-strony-kogo-i-dlaczego-zachwyca-prezydent.read

-- BIRTHDAYS: Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, Anna Plakwicz, Marek Krząkała, Michał Rachoń.
 


Łukasz Mężyk