Vitaly Portnikov. Pope and minister

Pope and minister
Vitaly Portnikov

Date of publication: September 26, 2000

The 2000 presidential campaign in Poland was probably the most boring of all election campaigns in that country. In all previous presidential elections, there was intrigue: the rivalry between Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and the first Polish Democratic Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki split the camp of former fighters against defeated communism and allowed the “Polish Zhirinovsky” - businessman Stanislaw Tyminski - to enter the second round of elections. In the next elections, President Walesa and the post-communist Kwasniewski met in the second round, and this confrontation forced the liberals who consistently criticized Walesa to vote for their disappointing idol: however, Kwasniewski would have won without them. During his presidency, the young, mobile and - what is perhaps the most important thing about him - tolerant president became not so much a favorite of the nation, but a person who suits the nation. If you can say “convenient president” about someone, it’s Kwasniewski...

Almost all opinion polls guaranteed Kwasniewski a landslide victory in the first round, leaving no chance for his main rival, Solidarity Election Action candidate Marian Krzaklewski. Perhaps this is why the Polish media covered not so much the election campaign itself, but events that were in one way or another connected with it, for example, the lustration trials of President Kwasniewski and ex-President Walesa. The promise of representatives of the headquarters of the leader of Solidarity to disclose certain facts that should excite the public was not paid attention to. But in vain.

On Friday the bomb exploded. Representatives of Krzaklewski's headquarters held a press conference at which a tape recording of President Kwasniewski's arrival in the Kalisz Voivodeship was released. Head of the National Security Bureau (BNB) and Secretary of the State Defense Committee, Presidential Minister Marek Siwiec crossed himself as he got out of the helicopter. Seeing this, the president asked whether Minister Siwiec kissed the Kalisz soil, which the minister immediately did - in a pose very reminiscent of similar gestures by Pope John Paul ╡╡. At a press conference by Krzaklewski’s headquarters, all this was characterized as an open mockery of the Polish Pope. Yes, in fact, most TV viewers already recognized the familiar figure bending to the ground - Minister Sivets turned out to be a very gifted parodist...

It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that Pope John Paul in Poland is a cult figure. It is with his activities that Poles associate the fall of communism, reforms and the international prestige of Poland. The pope is the only living Pole whose streets are named after him, and to whom monuments are erected. In addition, to insult the Pope means to insult the Church, a force not only religious, but also political... The Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp, has already spoken about the demonstrated recording in a very harsh manner, noting that what is inside of a person will always come out . The Polish media are talking about a possible deterioration in relations between Kwasniewski, who has always shown particularly respectful respect for the pope in public, with the Roman pontiff and the Polish church.

Marek Siwiec resigned immediately. It should be noted that the head of the BNB is perhaps the politician closest to the president. Siwiec, 45, began his career in student organizations of the Polish Komsomol. A professional journalist, he edited the Krakow magazine "Student" and the left-wing newspaper "Tribuna" (formerly "Tribuna Ludu"), then was press secretary of the left faction in the Sejm and a member of the National Council of Radio and Television. After Kwasniewski's victory in the presidential election, he became Secretary of State in the Office of the President, and soon became the chief of the BNB and secretary of the Defense Committee. The last time I saw Siwiec was at the residence of the President of Poland this spring: Kwasniewski made an appointment with a group of journalists from the CIS, but at the last moment he was unable to give an interview. And instead of the president, Marek Siwiec came out to the press.

For Poland, this is not unexpected: Siwiec is quite capable of “replacing” the head of state, at least from the point of view of presenting the presidential position. That is why, in the situation that developed after the film was shown, Sivets could count on the support of the president. And he said that he would not resign. But on Saturday morning he changed his mind and sent an official petition to the head of state. In an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, Siwiec explained that he was prompted to change his position by comments and, above all, by the comment of the authoritative Bishop Jan Chrapek. Chrapek stated: “Whoever does not respect the personalities and values ​​respected and valued by the entire people excludes himself from the applicants for the representation of the people.” Siwiec realized that Kostel was seriously angry and was ready for a real war against Kwasniewski. And he decided to put out the flaring fire with his resignation. “No one, and especially me, can be an obstacle in the good relations of the president with our most outstanding compatriot - Pope John Paul,” Sivets wrote in his address to the president.

Kwasniewski has already described his minister’s appeal as a responsible and honest step. Apparently, Sivets' resignation will be accepted. However, it will be difficult for the Polish head of state to rectify the situation. What can really help him is a certain public irritation over the methods that Marian Krzaklewski’s headquarters decided to resort to in an effort to lower the rating of the current head of state. Polish media are talking about the Siwiec scandal as “the beginning of an aggressive election campaign” and the use of American election technologies in Poland - which, according to many observers in Warsaw, is hardly acceptable in a country with a European political culture. “Astonished by the president’s sense of humor, we are also amazed by the method of struggle chosen by Krzaklewski. It would be better for Polish democracy if the headquarters of Alexander K. did not respond to Marian K. with the same dirty advertising,” Gazeta Wyborcza emphasizes in its commentary.