Why Poland focuses its election campaign on the military

Parliamentary elections in Poland are scheduled for October 15.

The presence of the military in public space has recently increased in Poland. But the debate about his role has also increased, as more and more politicians don green shirts, and visit border controls and military bases.

ADVERTISING

This year, the Army Day celebrations lasted several days and ended with a huge military parade in Warsaw. Experts estimate that it was the most expensive Army Day in Polish history.

The military issue has become a fundamental issue in the country. Opinions among the public on whether it is due to a real security threat or part of the political campaign for the upcoming elections are divided.

“If you want peace, prepare for war,” says Przemysław, a local resident. “As far as financial and human capacities allow, which also have to be taken into account, we must keep defense in mind at all times. And defense is the modernity of the army. His son Jakub says he wants to be a soldier in the GROM unit (Polish Special Forces).

Expert opinions are also divided.

Some say that the presence of the army in public life is justified and that the reactions of the authorities are adequate.

Beata Gorka-Winter, a security expert at the University of Warsaw, assures that “in the ranking of social trust, (the Army) occupies a prominent place, second.” The specialist also believes that “the outbreak of the war in Ukraine causes citizens to observe the situation with great concern. And here (in Poland) the appropriate measures have been taken: fighters from the Wagner group have appeared in Belarus, they are exerting pressure on borders and we expect all kinds of incidents, including those of a military nature. Therefore, the government cannot ignore it.”

Other specialists believe that the army and the tensions in the region are being used for internal political purposes.

“We are dealing with the use of a real threat in a political and electoral campaign. That is, using the Army, and pretending that only this government, by building the Army, will guarantee security. Politics is done around this, but this has nothing to do with security: it is to help the authorities to maintain power, although, constitutionally speaking, this should not be the case; the army should be apolitical, and it is very clearly politicized” says Jaroslaw Kociszewski, Nowa Europa Wschodnia security expert, Stratpoints.

Those who did not go to the military parade highlight its political nature.

“The organizers, that is, the government, the president, are certainly not the ones close to me,” says Maciej Przygoda. “Actually, they work to my disadvantage and I try to distance myself from their decisions. I saw the speech of both the president and the Minister of Defense, and it was very political, very ‘like in the electoral program’, so it had to be ‘spit’ to the opposition and their actions. This is not the Poland I would like.”

Poland is a highly polarized country, and when it comes to the Army, today is no different. But, despite the divided opinions, the Army will continue to be an important issue in the electoral campaign.

Additional sources • Lucía Blasco (voiceover)

#Poland #focuses #election #campaign #military