Years ago, research conducted at the University of Warsaw revealed that the most intolerant, closed-minded electorate belonged to the Civic Platform (PO). They comparatively found it easiest to accept the views of the opposing PiS voter. This finding completely overturned the established narrative of that party’s provincialism and PO’s progressive stance. Even then, it was explained to people that the issue was not one of openness but rather a matter of who held which opinions—because those expressed by PO were so progressive that no alternative viewpoints needed to be considered.
The problem, however, was that these opinions had to be changed rapidly—just as the Party’s leaders changed theirs.
Was there anything constant that could unite this formation? Unfortunately, there was only one link: anti-PiS sentiment. Tusk’s party sustained itself on the imperative of combating PiS for so long that it had to transform this duty into a powerful emotion. These emotions first exploded in the wake of the Smolensk tragedy. Moreover, they were strongly inflamed by both pro-government media and Russia. What happened at that time led to such a profound division within society that it was never possible to mend the fracture. The idea of being anti-PiS degenerated into mere contempt, and ultimately into hatred—not only toward the politicians of that party but also toward its electorate.
Another eruption of extraordinary emotions occurred during the protests following the Constitutional Tribunal’s decision on eugenic abortion. This time, vulgarities and shoving were replaced by outright aggression. Although this aggression was primarily directed against churches—a phenomenon unprecedented in Polish history—the underlying sentiment was, of course, hatred toward Kaczyński’s party.
The surging hatred produced outcomes such as the politically motivated murder carried out by former PO member Ryszard Cyba and the Putin-sponsored “eight stars” campaign. When it eventually emerged who was behind that campaign, for those who had been led along by the Kremlin, it should have served as a rude awakening.
Yet most of them felt no remorse or sense of shame. They had none because hatred blinds one’s capacity for reflection.
You might well wonder how it is possible that censorship, forceful interventions at TVP and by the prosecutor’s office, and finally repression against the opposition—including even acts of torture against women that culminated in the tragic death of the late Barbara Skrzypek—failed entirely to strip the ruling formation of its support. A normal person, regardless of their political views, would not accept such actions. But a person possessed by hatred is capable of tolerating almost any atrocity or simply fails to notice these misdeeds.
Driven by hatred toward its opponents, PO has, in effect, turned this sentiment into a loyalty program—and there may be more cases in which the authorities resort to tactics such as blackmailing a mother with the harm of her sick child, the death of Mrs. Skrzypek, or the nurturing of criminals like Cyba. Fortunately, the vast majority of our compatriots simply do not want such a Poland.