Investigation into Visa Issue & more –19th Sep 2023

Witam from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 19th of September twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Let’s kick off this episode with some domestic news…

On Thursday, the 14th, authorities brought charges against seven individuals and detained three of them over last week’s visa incident.

Recall that last week, authorities revealed that some international recruitment companies helped individuals from third-world countries get a Polish visa, although they were not eligible to get one.

The National Public Prosecutor's Office stated that it is investigating several hundred visa applications submitted over the last eighteen months. According to the preliminary results of the investigation, authorities stated that most of these visa applications have been rejected, and those who had obtained their visa did not pose a threat to national security. President Duda said he would wait for the final results of the investigations before making any comments.

The ruling party continues to use the immigration debate to overcome the opposition in the upcoming election. Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, said that Europe is currently facing an invasion of illegal immigrants but that this wouldn’t happen to Poland if the ruling party remains in charge. He implied that the opposition, especially Donald Tusk’s party, will allow the influx of illegal immigrants as long as the EU dictates it. The migrant issue was called into question as the ruling party might just be trying to scare opposition voters.

Speaking of the elections…

On the same day, the ruling party announced further election promises. The prime minister stated they would introduce early retirement for those men who have worked forty-three years — for women, they should have worked for thirty-eight. They will be able to retire no matter their age. The other promise for after-election is the minimum wage hike. The government approved an increase in the minimum wage by one dollar and twenty cents per hour for twenty twenty-four. It will raise the minimum wage to 980 from 800 dollars.

And when it comes to what people think…

On Thursday, an IBRiS survey asked Poles whether this election process was more brutal than others, and, if so, who was to blame. According to the poll, sixty-four percent of the participants think this election campaign is very aggressive. Fifty-seven percent of them blamed the ruling party, while forty-two of them blamed the Civic Platform. Harsh allegations between the ruling party and the opposition are creating a war-like atmosphere.

On Monday, the 18th, the opposition took the lead in a mock election in the central town of Wieruszów. The traditional mock elections have been taking place in this town since nineteen ninety-seven, before every parliamentary election in the country. The interesting part is that usually, the results of this town’s mock elections coincide with the real elections’ results. This year, Civic Platform, the main opposition party, got thirty-four percent of all votes, while the ruling party ended up in second place with thirty-two percent. Let’s see if this town’s mock elections will predict who will run the country.

Our last note about the elections is the second big rally of the opposition.

On Tuesday, the 17th, more updates appeared about the opposition’s October march in Warsaw. The demonstration will take place on the 1st of October, under the name "the Million Hearts March". Reporters expect thousands of people to demonstrate on the streets of Warsaw and in many other cities. The march will protest against the ruling party.

Now, let’s talk about foreign affairs…

On Saturday, the 16th, President Duda departed for the United States for an important five-day visit. Duda addressed the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Summit and the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. He also met with a couple of his counterparts, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. During his visit, he also marked the 84th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland that took place on the 7th of September nineteen thirty-nine. He stated that "Poland is investing in national defenses to ensure that there won’t be a repeat of the nineteen thirty-nine invasion".

Speaking of defense, Poland keeps strengthening its army.

On Friday, the 15th, the country deployed new air defense systems in the northeast. The UK-produced Air Modular Missile and iLauncher missile launchers will now protect the northeastern side of the country. The US State Department has approved the sale of maintenance services for F-16 jets and related combat equipment, worth 400 million dollars.

But why should Poland have so many military upgrades? Surprise, Surprise, because of Russia.

On Saturday, the 16th, Poland banned the entrance of Russian-registered cars into the country regardless of the owners’ nationality, Also, Poland will complete its electronic barrier on the border with Russia in October, which will further isolate Russia from the country.

With its increasing security, Poland can be a good place to invest in.

On Thursday, the 14th, President Andrzej Duda encouraged more foreigners to invest in Poland. In a Polish-South Korean business forum, he talked about the trade between both countries reaching 10 billion dollars per year. The president encouraged other countries to invest in Poland. He said that the country’s stable economy and membership in international organizations make the country safe to invest in. Poland has seen steady growth in its economy in recent years, which can attract even more foreign investment.

On that note about Duda…

On Friday, the 15th, he sent greetings to Poland’s Jewish Community over the Jews’ Rosh Hashanah holiday, also known as the Jewish New Year. Government officials, including the president and prime minister, regularly attend Jewish events and support the Jewish community in the country.

But what about relations with Ukraine?

On Monday, the 18th, Ukraine will sue Poland over its decision to ban Ukrainian grain imports. This week, Poland decided to extend the grain ban on Ukraine. Amid the decision, Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s Trade Representative, stated that Kyiv will start legal proceedings in the World Trade Organization, or WTO, against Poland. The WTO oversees trade between countries and punishes them if there is a breach of international trade rules.

Moving on…

Are you looking for an interesting activity to do in Poland? Try mushroom picking. It is a very common activity for Poles. In forests, you can still find mushrooms from the summer, but seasonal mushrooms also appear as fall approaches. Weather forecasters say the next few days will be rainier, which helps mushrooms grow. Yet be careful; if you want to take part in this activity then go to the forest with someone knowledgeable about mushrooms because some species can be poisonous.

And to close this edition, some sports news.

On Saturday, the 16th, Poland’s national men's volleyball team won the European championship, long after their last win in two thousand nine. On Monday the 18th, Prime Minister Morawiecki hosted the players at his Office in Warsaw.

And that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us! Before we leave, we wanted to thank everyone who has been listening to us, and welcome all the new subscribers! We are happy the Rorshok Poland community is growing!

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Do zobaczenia!