[ad_1]
Thousands of people participated in the “march for independence” in Warsaw, despite calls from Prime Minister Morawiecki to stay home.. Different groups have been demonstrating for weeks, the country is not calm.
By Jan Pallokat, ARD Studio Warsaw
Thousands of nationally conscious Poles gathered for Warsaw’s annual “Independence March”, although the right of assembly in the country is restricted due to the pandemic and a court even banned the march.
The organizers themselves had called for better vehicle driving in the capital this year to protect the elderly. Although some stood their ground and drove through the city in cars decorated in the national colors of red and white, a demonstration with thousands of participants formed again at the traditional starting point, a central roundabout named after the historic nationalist leader Roman Dmowski.
This year’s motto: “Our civilization, our rules.” “We are not going to let that go,” said one participant. ARD Studio Warsaw. “We also keep our distance and wear masks.”
Initially there were no major incidents. However, the ongoing demonstrations also counter repeated calls by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for weeks to stay at home in the face of the plight of the crown and resolve political issues later.
More recently, he was not only explicitly referring to women’s protests, which have not diminished since a controversial Constitutional Court ruling on the right to abortion.
He addressed the participants in the annual “independence march” on the Polish national holiday directly with the request that they stay away from this year’s march.
“If it is to be expected that there will be no more corona viruses in the next year, I would be happy to go to the march myself,” said Morawiecki, who had already joined the big event organized by far-right groups in 2018.
The “march for independence” began after the fall of the Wall as a small demonstration of right-wing extremists, but as time went by it received more and more support far beyond the harsh right-wing scene in the country; In recent years, tens of thousands have regularly joined the procession, which is characterized by national flags and Bengal fires.
Accusations against the mayor of Warsaw
While the liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski banned it this year in view of the crown situation, he had shown himself at a demonstration against the tightening of the abortion law, which brought him the accusation of measuring with double standards. From a formal point of view, “women’s protests”, which many men also attend, are not recorded “walks”. However, since the march for independence is a recurring event, this deception was not possible.
The extent to which the ongoing street protests are fueling the infection process has long been debated in the country. The government spoke of thousands of additional infections daily, citing professionals; However, a high level of mask discipline is striking in protests by primarily young women across the country; Many of the participants in the right-wing “march for independence” also wore mouth and nose protection.
Caravan – because of Corona
In the field to the right of the ruling PiS party, many oppose the current restrictions, such as the requirement for masks across the country, even outdoors. The political arm of the far right, the “Confederation”, was also noticed in parliament by demonstratively unmasked MPs. However, the organizers of the march had stated, “with a view to the safety of our participants, especially the veterans who accompany us each year,” switch to a car parade this year.
After many Poles became very negligent in terms of health protection in the summer, fueled by statements by the country’s leaders that the virus was “in retreat” and that one could “vote (for the president) without fear” , most are now holding on again. People to the applicable restrictions. Schools are already teaching online again; Pools, gyms, and shopping havens are also closed again, and there is a de facto curfew for seniors.
Deaths at the top
Compared to official data, the infection rate had recently stabilized at a high level, with around 25,000 new infections recorded in 24 hours. The reported death rate is now at a record high (most recently: 430 deaths).
According to an evaluation of the money.pl portal, the death rate in the country has been significantly above comparative values since September, unlike the first Corona wave in spring.
Government: “Situation still under control”
But behind him there could also be people who were not treated for other diseases or who did not trust a doctor. Because while the government speaks of a tense but still controllable situation, the country’s independent media repeatedly reports on ambulances roaming the country looking for a place of treatment for Covid patients, on outgoing oxygen and doctors who have to decide who. welcome them and who does not.
After having dominated the first wave “phenomenally”, this time you are in the European average, said PiS politician Marcin Horala. The president of the Polish Medical Association, Andrzej Matyja, spoke on a private radio station about the collapse of the healthcare system: “Sometimes I get the impression that the medical world we have been dealing with no longer exists. has collapsed for us. “
The fact that Poland so far has not received aid from Germany despite the corresponding offers has also caused irritation, unlike countries such as the Czech Republic, France or the Netherlands: “Does the PiS government prefer a dead post to one under a German fan? ” asked opposition deputy Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz rhetorically.
The PiS party suffers in the polls
None of this is good for the polls of the ruling PiS party, which seems unattainable since its first electoral victory in 2015. It recently fell below 30 percent; The state agency CBOS also reports the worst result for the government bank to date.
This is not just because of Corona; Power struggles within the ruling faction also played a role and the planned toughening of the abortion law, which is unpopular far beyond the opposition, and the concerns of a radical minority even in the field of the right, as shown the polls. Until now, the government has delayed the publication of the abortion ruling, so the toughening of the rules is not yet legally binding.
On the table is a bill from President Andrzej Duda, which will supposedly allow abortions again in the event of a particularly serious illness in the future child. The protests have subsided since then but still take place, especially on Mondays, the traditional day of women’s protests.
The observation that these groups are demonstrating may have brought many right-wing camp supporters to the streets, following the slogan “We can do that too.”
Veto against the help of the crown?
Prime Minister Morawiecki will therefore need a lot of backbone in view of the situation in his country if he is really to veto the EU budget and Crown aid in Brussels due to the rule of law mechanism.
PiS party leader Kaczynski had threatened a veto weeks ago; you don’t get blackmailed with money. These days, the daily “Gazeta Prawna” reported, referring to government sources, that Kaczynski insists on a veto. At stake would be a large amount of money for Poland with the total package of more than 1.8 trillion euros consisting of the EU budget and the Crown reconstruction funds. The country can count on 26,000 million euros from the reconstruction fund alone.
