Not Joining a Ceasefire Resolution & more – 7th Nov 2023

Witam from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 7th of November twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Let’s break the ice with foreign affairs…

On Wednesday, the 1st, Krzysztof Szczerski, the government’s representative to the United Nations, condemned the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and the bombing of civilians. However, he added that Poland rejected a ceasefire resolution that Arab states proposed last week because they didn’t condemn Hamas attacks.

The next day, Zbigniew Rau, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Egyptian authorities agreed to cooperate to evacuate thirty Poles from Gaza.

On the same note...

On Saturday, the 4th, Belarus said that the Polish air force violated the country’s airspace twice, on Thursday the 2nd and Friday the 3rd. A spokesperson for the Polish army said they would check their radar data to see if they committed a violation.

Speaking of Belarus, on Saturday the 4th, the military police shot one Syrian illegal immigrant who was trying to cross the Polish-Belarusian border. Szymon Banna, spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, said that the office is investigating the situation. The online newspaper Gazeta said that at least fifty-five immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Iran, and the Republic of Congo have died on the Polish-Belarusian border since illegal migrants from the Middle East started trying to enter the country in twenty twenty-one. Moreover, the journalists revealed that 22,000 people attempted to enter Poland illegally this year.

Not only is the country dealing with illegal immigration, but also drug smuggling…

On Tuesday, the 7th, the Central Bureau of Investigation announced that Michał Aleksandrowicz, a police officer, would be in charge of one of the groups working in The Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats. The seven groups will work in the United States on synthetic drug trafficking issues and search for ways to decrease drug smuggling.

Now, let’s talk about the country’s new government…

On Monday, the 6th, President Andrzej Duda announced that the ruling party, Law and Justice, which is under the leadership of Mateusz Morawiecki, the current prime minister, would be in charge of forming a government. On the 13th of November, the new parliament will substitute the current government, and Morawiecki will be temporarily the prime minister until the President chooses a new one.

On the same day, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, a member of parliament from the ruling party, said it would be a great opportunity to form a coalition with the Polish People’s Party. On Saturday, the 4th, Morawiecki said he would like Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the president of the Polish People’s Party, to be the new prime minister. Despite the ruling party doing everything it can to form the coalition, the Polish People’s Party decided to create an alliance with the opposition.

On the economic front…

In September twenty twenty-three prices increased by 8% compared to the same month in twenty twenty-two. However, prices in October increased by 6,5% compared to October twenty twenty-two, an increase lower than September’s, which means there was a decrease in inflation.

On a positive note, on Friday, the 3rd, the Ministry of Finance announced that the economy will grow the most in Europe with a GDP of 3%.

The next day, Bloomberg, the American business news agency, stated that the country would benefit from the rivalry between the world's most dominant economies, China and the US, because it has stable relations with both.

Despite the improving economic situation, truck drivers experience financial difficulties…

In twenty twenty-two, the European Union lifted procedures and regulations for Ukrainian transport companies working in European countries to help them during the Russian invasion. Since new truck drivers entered the European and Polish markets, transportation companies and their workers earned less. On Sunday, the 5th, truck drivers announced that this week they would block three major crossings from Ukraine to Poland to protest against the government because it hasn’t addressed their lower wages problem. The blocking will last two months. The nationalist Confederation Party declared its support for truck drivers.

Last week, some schools organized Rainbow Friday events to raise awareness for LGBTQ+ students, especially for those studying in rural areas where they are more likely to face discrimination and bullying. On Thursday, the 2nd, the opposition Members of Parliament Barbara Nowacka and Agnieszka Pomaska from the Civic Platform Party promised the school managers that they would defend their right to organize any events that the teachers and parents wanted, regardless of the ruling’s ideas against the LGBTQ+ community. The politicians added that the Law and Justice party should not interfere and spread their ideology in schools.

The feud between the ruling party and opposition will die down after the change of the government…

With anticipation of upcoming changes, on Thursday, the 2nd, Radio Music Facts, or RMF FM, published the results of a survey about what the citizens wanted the new government to do first. Fifty-seven percent of respondents believe that the new government should organize the justice system since the European Union demands it as a condition to unlock the frozen COVID-19 funds of the EU, worth nearly eighty billion dollars. The other thirty-three percent expect the legalization of abortion. The rest of the respondents think the government should increase the income threshold for tax payments and raise the monthly allowance for working mothers.

In another survey by RMF FM, reporters asked Poles for their opinion on nuclear power plants, the closing of the Central Anticorruption Bureau, and military investments. A few weeks ago, the ruling party signed several contracts to build the country's first nuclear plant in the next few years. According to the poll results published on Monday, the 6th, eighty-five percent of the participants support the construction of nuclear plants.

Regarding the Anticorruption Bureau, the opposition parties wanted to shut it down because they thought the ruling party politicized it. However, sixty-one percent of the respondents believe the bureau is necessary and shouldn't be closed. Concerning military spending, over seventy-six percent said that the government should continue to invest large amounts in the army.

It is time to go on a tour of historical residencies…

On Thursday, the 2nd, Piotr Gliński, the Culture Minister, announced the Free November initiative. Nine historic royal residences in Poland will be admitting visitors free of charge this month. The historical attractions will include the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the Wawel complex in Kraków, the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork, and six more! For more information, follow the link in the show notes!

Still on culture…

On Tuesday, the 7th, the American Film Festival started in Wroclaw. The festival will screen around 126 American-produced movies and last until the 12th of November.

On the 11th of November Poland will celebrate National Independence Day. The country gained independence from the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian Empires in nineteen eighteen. Poland stayed independent until World War II, when the Soviet Union and Germany invaded the country again. Poland will celebrate with an Independence March at Rondo Romana Dmowskiego under the slogan of “Poland is not yet lost” in Warsaw.

In unrelated news…

For three weeks, more than 1,000 police officers have searched for Grzegorz Borys, a former military person who killed his six-year-old son. He was found dead in a forest in Gdynia on Monday, the 6th. The journalists from the online newspaper Gazeta Poland wrote that he probably committed suicide, but more investigation will take place to determine his cause of death.

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