Tomasz Lis won’t escape politics – “private story” at the Freedom Games

“Private History” was a meeting with Tomasz Lis – Polish journalist and publicist, editor-in-chief of the weekly “Newsweek Polska” – regarding his latest book.

At 20:00, with a slight delay caused by an unexpected visit by Donald Tusk at the earlier panel by Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, the meeting with Tomasz Lis officially began. At the initiative of the editor, it was divided into two parts. The first one was a short monologue of a journalist about his latest publication. In the words of the author himself: “This is a story of a provincial boy who had a wild luck”. At the same time, it is also a subjective assessment of the history of the Third Polish Republic over the last thirty years, crowned with a journalistic view of the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2019. The editor considers their impact on the coming years and what they will bring for the Polish nation. He also answers questions such as: “Do Poles really prefer democracy, or do they want authoritarianism?” And “NATO, the European Union, Euro – what’s next?”

The journalist talked briefly about the book and, without much digression, he quickly passed into probably the part of the meeting most awaited by all, namely the answers to the questions. Considering that a moment earlier Tomasz Lis discussed the future of the Third Polish Republic in the Machine Hall, he guessed that the public probably has many questions for him. And in fact that was the case – the questions concerned the book, but also the lecture of the editor, as well as other major events on the political scene.

The first question, as could be expected, concerned one of the hottest topics of recent years, namely refugees. Quoting: “We – the nation of immigrants for centuries have benefited from the goodness of other nations, such as the United States, Great Britain, and we ourselves are unable to accept a few thousand women with children.” He also admitted to insufficient consultation and caution regarding the admission of immigrants.

He turned his sense of guilt towards his television past and setting the “god of publicity” pedestal, which definitely influenced the content of his program. Following this lead, he answered questions about the influence of the media on the political views of Poles. He openly criticized the number of citizens present at the elections and the passivity of the current ruling party in encouraging the nation to decide the fate of the fatherland. He pointed out the lack of concrete proposals for such social groups as women, youth and national minorities. He also referred to the current recalibration of the situation in Europe and in the United States, initiated at the time of the presidential election. The current events in the US boldly compared to what is currently happening in Polish politics.

Despite the fact that many key issues were raised at the meeting, there is one main conclusion. What the future Poland will look like depends on each citizen. Without the active participation of each of us in the political life of Poland, much will not change. The change begins with ourselves.

Weronika Ługowska