How should a government communicate with society? What a foolish question. They promised something in their election program, that brought them victory, so they implement the “concretes” one by one and communicate it. Simple. But not with Donald Tusk’s government. The prime minister, together with his Domańskis, Arłukowiczes, Leszczynas and Szłapkas, deliberately and consciously misled their own voters to seize power, so they cannot communicate the implementation of their promises. What remains is communication through lies, hysteria and blackmail. That is being implemented. The only problem is that this concept has grown tiresome even for Tusk’s voters.
Let us start from the end – that Donald Tusk has worn out his welcome, or more precisely, is clearly wearing it out. Supposedly the Civic Coalition (KO) is winning in the polls, supposedly party members officially express bureaucratic enthusiasm about it, but the withering of the coalition partner Polish People’s Party (PSL) and the annihilation through fragmentation of Polska 2050 Party (Polska 2050) without Szymon Hołownia show that the chances for future governments are shrinking. The alarm siren was sounded by the state-run and always pro-government Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS), publishing approval ratings of Donald Tusk – but not only his. Are Poles satisfied that the leader of the Civic Coalition (KO) is prime minister? 54 percent are not, and only 35 percent express enthusiasm. Do Poles support the government’s economic policy? 53 percent say no, 34 percent support it. Let us remember that we are speaking about CBOS, established by Wojciech Jaruzelski to provide the authorities with favorable numbers, and still financed by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Sejm and the Senate. That means something.
Few Want the Euro, and the Government Spokesman Is a Manipulator
Examples that Tusk is wearing thin – or more precisely, is wearing thin as the process of erosion continues – can easily be multiplied. I was struck by a segment of the electorate traditionally associated largely with Civic Coalition (KO) – entrepreneurs. An interesting poll was published by Rzeczpospolita, which is certainly not a “PiS-aligned” outlet, and the name of George Soros appears among those who have indirect influence over the newspaper’s publisher. As for the poll: Civic Coalition (KO) has been trying in various ways to persuade Poles to adopt the euro, which according to that political camp would have a miraculous impact on the economy. According to the latest survey, as many as 66 percent of managers of medium and large companies oppose adopting the euro, while only 23 percent support it. It seems entrepreneurs are not so eager for far-reaching integration with the European Union.
The lies with which Tusk’s team led voters into the woods, and which allowed this formation to win the elections as part of a coalition, are now returning in questions from journalists and ordinary citizens. The prime minister tried to downplay the matter, suggesting that “well, well, 30 percent voted for us, so I fulfilled 30 percent of the 100 concretes.” But first – he received full power, not 30 percent of it, and second – he obviously did not fulfill that many promises, so once again he strayed from the truth. A supposed breakthrough in communication was meant to be the appointment of government spokesman Adam Szłapka. Well, in a sense one might call it a breakthrough, but probably not in the intended way. There is no doubt that spokesman Szłapka manipulates relentlessly. That is not an opinion, but a fact. It may be an opinion to compare him to the communist spokesman known for lies, Jerzy Urban, but it is a fact that this morally repugnant figure was intelligent and at times brilliant. I would not dare say that about Szłapka.
The Toxic SAFE Loan
The Demagog service – certainly not a right-wing outlet – analyzed 19 official statements by Tusk’s government spokesman. Eight were false, five were manipulations, one was a half-truth and four were true. Such a result would normally mean catastrophe and the end of a government. However, we are speaking about Tusk’s cabinet implementing what it calls “militant democracy” – which Judge Dariusz Łubowski described as a crypto-dictatorship – so for this camp and its voters it is still acceptable.
Another element of government communication deserves attention in the case of the exceptionally toxic SAFE loan. Here a narrative is being attempted – or rather imposed – that is a conglomerate of hysteria and blackmail, all built on a foundation of lies. Tusk and his team are perfectly aware of two key issues, yet they articulate neither. First – the loan is unfavorable for many reasons: variable interest rates, taken in a foreign currency, with a conditionality mechanism meaning that the next tranche will be released “when we decide” – it is a simple trap. Second, perhaps more importantly, the debt benefits Germany, as clearly demonstrated by the German ambassador Miguel Berger, sitting in the Sejm and ensuring everything proceeded as it should. And at that stage, he ensured it did.
The bill may, however, be vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki, which displeases Tusk and the Germans. At the same time, the prime minister is well aware that a substantive debate on SAFE is extremely dangerous for Civic Coalition (KO), because it shows that in reality Poles would be voluntarily – and not entirely consciously – placing an economic noose around their own necks. That is why work on the bill was conducted at express speed, and the document itself, together with annexes, was in practice unavailable even to MPs – this is not a joke.
Signing a loan agreement without knowing its terms is not prudent, but it will certainly be beneficial – only for Germany.
Plenty of Manipulation
How do you fight when you have no arguments? Calmly – hysteria and blackmail remain. This communication channel was activated by the government in the SAFE case. The narrative of the “group bent over the trough” is as follows: anyone who opposes SAFE and does not want the bill signed is a traitor and a Russian stooge. Such a person is against the Polish army, against security and against Poland in general. These are precisely the simplistic formulas conveyed by Szłapka. There are no arguments, so invective and hysteria remain.
Finally, unpleasant news for Tusk. A profile analyzing the sentiments of people commenting on SAFE indicated clearly that despite the media advantage of the coalition camp, the loan issue is lost in public opinion: 60 percent of comments are critical, 34 percent supportive. The government’s communication is an exact reflection of the intentions of this ruling arrangement.