Polish Politics

[Admiral Yi]

I can see a resemblance this time, especially in the way the guys set their mouths and the way the ladies squint.

[Razgovory]

So, we have a new President. Great.

Well, keep him away from the cockpit.

[Martinus]

So I wonder what PO will do before the autumn elections. It is quite clear that their model of "We are not PiS" has lost its appeal as they lost the young vote who no longer remembers the PiS rule of 2005-2007 (Duda won the young vote by a landslide). And since the new President will only be sworn in early August and the Parliamentary elections are in October, it is unlikely he will do enough to make people hate PiS again (especially as already he is saying he wants to be an inclusive President of all, and distances himself from PiS's extreme wing so even assuming it is a rouse and not genuine, he is unlikely to drop the act before October).

PO really has two options - it will either veer to the right in a (in my view, misguided) attempt to steal votes from PiS - or it will veer left and try to fight for the votes of the "orphans" after the two leftist parties which disintegrated this year and who stayed home during the Presidential elections. The former will not give it much, imo - PiS voters just hate PO and consdier them traitors so it is unlikely anything PO says will sway them (and they will not outbid PiS in crazy). On the other hand, a move to the centre-left would allow PO to survive and possibly result in them becoming the Polish Democrats (to PiS's Republicans).

[Martinus]

The President elect has had his first interview after the elections. There were two questions about gays.

When asked about gay marriage/civil partnership, he said he is against it but that he is for legal recognition for same sex relations in the same way non-formalised opposite sex relations get (which means they are treated as "close relation" for the purpose of various stuff like medical information and decisions, criminal proceedings etc.) - this is exactly what the outgoing President's view was so no change here.

He was also asked if he would object to having a gay person working for his office. He said he would not discriminate in employment based on sexual orientation unless "the person would go around half-naked".

It is now being speculated the only place he has seen gay people is porn.

[Valmy]

Did anybody ask him which half is naked in this scenario?

[Grinning_Colossus]

Election results and boars per square kilometer

[Tonitrus]

Kinda interesting that both of those roughly follow the old German border lines.

[Ed Anger]

I suddenly want a baked potato.

[Martinus]

Kinda interesting that both of those roughly follow the old German border lines.

Yes, definitely (well, elections, not boars at least). PO is traditionally winning in the old German section while PiS is winning in the old Russian and Austria-Hungarian sections. The partitions are alive and well.

Generally, the poorer the area, the more likely it is to vote PiS - PO wins in the West and in all the big cities.

But the middle class urban vote may soon need to find another horse to bet on, as PO is sinking - they do not seem to understand why Komorowski lost and are bound to repeat their defeat in the Parliamentary elections. They have grown stale, complacent, fat and arrogant after 8 years of rule.

[The Minsky Moment]

He was also asked if he would object to having a gay person working for his office. He said he would not discriminate in employment based on sexual orientation unless "the person would go around half-naked".

It is now being speculated the only place he has seen gay people is porn.

Or its a reference to Putin.

[The Minsky Moment]

Kinda interesting that both of those roughly follow the old German border lines.

Bet it is very close to the Hajnal Line

[alfred russel]

The President elect has had his first interview after the elections. There were two questions about gays.

When asked about gay marriage/civil partnership, he said he is against it but that he is for legal recognition for same sex relations in the same way non-formalised opposite sex relations get (which means they are treated as "close relation" for the purpose of various stuff like medical information and decisions, criminal proceedings etc.) - this is exactly what the outgoing President's view was so no change here.

He was also asked if he would object to having a gay person working for his office. He said he would not discriminate in employment based on sexual orientation unless "the person would go around half-naked".

It is now being speculated the only place he has seen gay people is porn.

From the conservative party that must be taken as remarkable progress from where things stood when you were a teenager.

[Martinus]

The President elect has had his first interview after the elections. There were two questions about gays.

When asked about gay marriage/civil partnership, he said he is against it but that he is for legal recognition for same sex relations in the same way non-formalised opposite sex relations get (which means they are treated as "close relation" for the purpose of various stuff like medical information and decisions, criminal proceedings etc.) - this is exactly what the outgoing President's view was so no change here.

He was also asked if he would object to having a gay person working for his office. He said he would not discriminate in employment based on sexual orientation unless "the person would go around half-naked".

It is now being speculated the only place he has seen gay people is porn.

From the conservative party that must be taken as remarkable progress from where things stood when you were a teenager.

Still, it's kinda awkward. I think the general public is progressing faster than our ruling elite - which is one of the reason with the current dissatisfaction with politics as a whole. People have travelled West and came back - and they no longer buy this shit.

[Valmy]

No wonder Putin works so hard to demonize the west.

[Martinus]

Yup. But yeah, Poland has progressed. As I posted few months ago, a well known Polish gay activist (a Polish equivalent of Peter Tatchell) was elected the mayor of a medium sized Polish town (where he never lived before) last year and so far his star is consistently rising. Right now he is considered to have a good shot at Presidency of Poland in 2020.