I am not informed on this subject; the author's opinions remain his own. WM
December 15, 2004
This year post-communists celebrated the 15th anniversary of the change from communism to capitalism in Poland. A large number of self-praising editorials and interviews came out in pro-government (there is no other) national press. Critical voices of the opposing views showed up here and there only in minor local publications.
Post-communists in 15 years of this new era have become immensely rich. Until the recent investigation of ORLEN (attempted secret sale of Polish petrochemical plants to Russia) ) affair, I assessed the personal wealth of the former "wonder boy" of the Communist Party of Poland, current President Alexander Kwasniewski, in the range of $300 million dollars. Now I am convinced that he is a billionaire. It does not matter to me if this money is in his bank accounts or in the foreign bank accounts of his protege Kulczyk. Ian Kulczyk is now a multi-billionaire and the richest man in Poland. He specializes in lobbying government institutions to benefit his business as a personal friend of Aleksander Kwasniewski, and he was a frequent guest in the Presidential Namiestnikowski palace. He has publicly admitted that for security reasons most of his wealth has been already transferred out of Poland. These days when Kwasniewski as a President meets with Presidents of Germany or France, in comparison they are poor men because safeguards of democracy in those countries do not permit the quick enrichment of their politicians. But in Poland where there is no division between legislative, legal and administrative institutions, politicians can become as rich as they desire. Of course there is no legal proof of any wrongdoing because there is no possibility of investigation. Kwasniewski-appointed judges and nominated prosecutors would not dare to lose their careers. This is what happened with the Rywin affair where for "acting as corrupt middleman of behalf of unknown top government decision-makers" he received a nominal sentence of 2 years in jail. This man in is jail but the 'top government decision-makers" whom Rywin represented have never been named.
In similar fashion, lustration procedure of former President Lech Walesa to find out if he was a former communist collaborator or not, was aborted for the "good of Poland" since if he was confirmed as a paid collaborator with secret police against his colleagues in Gdansk shipyards, it could affect the image of Poland abroad and prove embarrassing to many foreign politicians and even the Pope who supported him in the past. Justice in Poland is not equal for all.
The Orlen affair, most visible today because of the public work of the Parliamentary Investigation Commission, is only the tip of the iceberg of the rampant corruption among post-communists who are ruling Poland today. A few years ago, Kaz Poznanski who is the Prof. of Economy at the University of Washington, published a book entitled "Grand Larceny" where he documented that 80 billion dollars disappeared from the Polish economy during the post-communist reform. Today I estimate that in 15 years, public money that has been lost to corruption is 150 billion dollars. No wonder that post-communists can afford to hire national and international reporters to write about how good they are, and post-communist controlled publications keep telling us that Polish economy is growing at a high rate. They have become so rich that they can buy any future election to elect anyone they want. But unemployment remains the most serious problem. The black market and tax avoidance has become a way of life. Millions of Poles are encouraged to seek low paying jobs abroad to defuse social unrest.
In 1990 I played a role as a candidate in the presidential election in Poland. My goal was to oppose these post-communist candidates, their secret agreements with "Solidarity" during Round Table talks, and promotion of an independent plan of reform that would release the vitality of the nation. To do so I wanted to take advantage of the limited but uncensored access to national TV. As a candidate I worked hard for two months at my own expense to warn Poles against the secret plans and ugly intentions of post-communist politicians. Even though my wife was poisoned with an appetizer destined for me and ended up in the hospital during that campaign, I kept on warning Poles about the dangers from government supported speculation of the currency exchange, underhanded privatization and their takeover of the banking system. Even though 4 million Poles trusted me with their votes they lost that election and all subsequent elections until now.
Most Poles have nothing to celebrate at Christmas tables this year. Most Poles today are unemployed or underemployed, earning wages below the level of poverty. The future is bleak with the high cost of the Polish zloty, which prevents growth of jobs with export activity. Post-communists who are rich now will continue grabbing public assets that can be easily converted at advantageous exchange rates into hard currencies like the Euro or dollar. With constant delays of new elections they gain time to become richer and to bury all traces of wrongdoing. Political parties hopeful to take over control of the country after the next election are not promising as they have had secret deals with post-communists since the time of the Round Table agreements in 1989. Most of them, as a measure of security, have been secretly financed as successors by the post-communists themselves. Corruptive and manipulative proportional election law does not allow Poles to cast a majority vote for the political representative of their choice. So Poland is destined to be an abnormal country where the vitality of citizens has been continuously dampened by lack of honest, patriotic and visionary leadership. This year top guru of the Polish reform, Leszek Balcerowicz, has publicly stated that he has underestimated the importance of human motivation. This narrowly trained sociopath with peasant roots, former member of the Communist Party of Poland, and confirmed loser in politics is really saying that he has screwed working Poles but he offers no apology for doing so.
Some political commentators believe that the only way to break this vicious circle of national lies is the public unrest that would create new conditions for human motivation and growth. But Poles are not brave to rise and fight for their rights to replace the entire political elite with honest patriots. Economic situation of Poland is so precarious that stability must be maintained at all costs. But safeguards must be implemented as quickly as possible to eradicate corruption and larceny in all levels of government. The Polish Constitution must be changed to provide for direct majority election law.
Last year in response to a question about change of election law, Polish president Alexander Kwasniewski replied that Poles lack the maturity to select their representative with direct majority election laws that exist in Canada, USA, England and many other leading democracies around the world. But he is mature enough to promote his friends to get rich quickly. A few years ago Kwasniewski was away from impeachment by only 4 (out of 400) votes in Polish Parliament. Documentation came up that he took 50 million dollars from the public treasury when he was Minister of Sports in the last government held by the Communist Party. In any normal country this type of matter would be handled by national prosecutors. In Poland it was a simple vote in Parliament where he was defended by mis post-communist colleagues who held majority on that day. Thus in modern Poland it takes only 1% of the votes to decide if the President is a crook or not. Of course legally he is not a thief, all proofs and documentation of his wrongdoings have been filed away. Nobody knows where these files are held and those who know are afraid to tell.
Unlike former Premier Leszek Miller, his buddy Alexander Kwasniewski has been enjoying high levels of approval ratings in public popularity polls. This is partially due to the successful "sociotechnical" expertise of his marketing team, but his handicaps such as lack of education, leadership and courage cannot be ignored. It seems the richer he is the more popularity he has in poor Poland.
Fish always spoils from the head first and Poland cannot longer afford to be governed by corrupted, cowardly leaders who are weasels that seek approval of the local and foreign press. Poles must have loyal, honest and courageous leaders that they can trust. This is absolutely necessary for the nation to be highly motivated to grow and prosper.
I was a leader in Poland once when millions of Poles trusted me and voted for me. But after a few years I was forced to leave Poland and live abroad. I was pressured by my own electorate that was manipulated by the post-communist press to join them. This pressure was clear in a typical question: "Mr. Tyminski, why do 'they' not show you more often in national TV"? In translation: "we want you to join them because we are too weak to support you, this is the only way". But despite this pressure and many invitations and incentives offered to me by post-communists, I could not join them. In my books that would be treason of Poland or at least of the people who trusted me with their votes. I prefer solitude than bad company. With a heavy heart I sold my house in Poland, closed my business and pulled my children out from a Polish school to take care of my family and business in Canada. I did not feel needed in Poland where people wanted Miller and Kwasniewski as their leaders because "it was the only way". My political and leadership skills have been more appreciated in democratic Canada than in my own motherland.
During the last 10 years since I left Poland I was hoping that other leaders would follow my footsteps and that I could support them from abroad. This has never happened. Today I do not trust any politicians in Poland because they all are interrelated with secret deals, financing and with supporting each other. I do not see one leader that is loyal to his electorate and receives financial support from his constituents. The media promotion and appearances in public media cannot fool me as to who is honest or not. I had the opportunity to meet most of them in person and have investigated them to find out if I could support any of them for the good of my motherland.
Now living in exile, the only cheerful toast I can make this year is for Poles to find good leaders to support them and protect them from vicious attacks of the post-communist controlled newspapers, radio and TV. For a country without good leaders is like a ship without a captain on an open sea. It is aimless, hungry and rebellious because the ship is lost. Good leaders are a precious commodity and if you are lucky to find them you must support them with your money and your votes and have courage to defend them with physical force if needed. Walk softly and carry a big stick. Post-communists are such cowards that there will be no need to hit them. Promotion and defense of trusted leaders is the only peaceful, non-violent way to stop this vicious circle of corruption and to avoid the instability and chaos resulting from a possible social unrest.
I wish you courage and wisdom to break away from all lies imposed by the post-communist establishment and to find good national leaders in the New Year. I raise a toast for the bright future that is in your hands: "Na zdrowie"! Drink up now and be free at least for a moment to remember how it feels.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Stan Tyminski
www.rzeczpospolita.com