Andrzej Duda - new president of Poland

Warsaw, Castle Square-10 April commemoration of Polish Air Force crash

Should we be surprised about the new Polish president Andrzej Duda? Well, I'm not. In Warsaw's old town I saw him passing by at rynek, by foot and only surrounded by a few assistants and guards. People were calling him "Andrzej, Andrzej!" and cheerfully waving to him, in the other hand the Polish flag which they brought for the commemoration of the Polish Air Force crash.

This was the moment when I started to take Duda serious, because I experienced that he can reach people. He appeared to be comprehensible to the man in the street, an attribute which is rare among politicians since they usually evoke negative emotions. Moreover, in Kraków Duda-campaigners seemed to be more enthusiastic and active. For instance in Nowa Huta, the huge Socialist Realist suburb district of Kraków, I was offered Duda-broshures, but none about incumbent Komorowski. Some talks with dissatisfied Polish students reinforced my first impression that Duda is able to win the election. My professor refused to call him "right-wing", even though most of the media does so.

As in many other European countries Poles are tired of politics in general and slow social climbing or even social decline in particular. Therefore they tend to vote for populists like Duda. He provides simple solutions und gives hope to the people. Let's see, if he can really improve people's life. The president has limited powers, but is head of the armed forces and has the power to propose or veto legislation.

Picture: SF