Weekly Briefing, Vol. 55. No. 1 (PL) October 2022
Local elections in Poland postponed by six months
Summary
The Polish parliament has passed a bill to extend the term of Polish local governments until April 30, 2024, thereby postponing local elections. According to the original electoral calendar, local elections fell in the fall of 2023. The constitutional date for parliamentary elections also falls in the fall. The Polish government explains the need to postpone the elections by the overlap of the dates of the parliamentary elections with the local elections and the related organizational problems in holding both elections at the same time. The decision is criticized by the opposition as a political decision and favorable to the current power camp.
On September 17, the 83rd anniversary of the Soviet Union’s aggression against Poland in 1939. a strategically important canal on the Vistula Spit connecting the Gulf of Gdansk with the Vistula Lagoon in the Baltic Sea, was officially opened. It is a waterway that will ensure that ships will not have to go to the high seas through the Pilawa Strait, which belongs to Russia.
Introduction
The Polish parliament’s decision to extend the term of office of Polish local governments has sparked a strong political dispute. It is criticized by the Polish opposition indicating that the current government’s action is “political”. It points out that the ruling party enjoys less support at the local government level than in the nationwide parliamentary elections and fears it may lose them. Therefore, it does not want the parliamentary elections to be held immediately after the local elections and to run in them after defeat in the local elections.
Opposition: Government manipulates election dates
The adoption of the law was commented on by Jan Grabiec, spokesman for the largest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO). – This is manipulation of the timing of elections for the benefit of the ruling party. This has nothing to do with either the pragmatics of holding elections or the good of local government. It only serves to improve the ruling party’s result in the upcoming elections as much as possible,” Grabiec said [i]. PO club head Borys Budka said that “if the government makes an agreement with the citizens for a five-year term, (…) then suddenly the will of one man, Kaczyński, cannot be changed. – This goes against the fundamental values of democracy, the rule of law,” he added.
The government justifies its decision on organizational grounds and the difficulty of holding parliamentary and local elections at a similar time. It is up to the upper house of the Polish parliament, the Senate, where the opposition has a majority, to decide whether to extend the term of local government. However, the Senate’s decision can be rejected by a majority in the lower house, where the government has a majority. President Andrzej Duda, who must ultimately approve the changes to the electoral calendar, has spoken favorably of the proposed changes, so the decision to reschedule local elections seems a foregone conclusion.
The postponement of local elections by the current government, despite some organizational arguments related to the organization of parliamentary and local elections on a similar date, seems to be a political action using the current legislative capabilities of the power camp, increasing the possibility of obtaining a better electoral result for the ruling Law and Justice in the parliamentary elections.
Opening of the canal on the Vistula Spit
A new shipping canal has connected the waters of Poland’s Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdansk in the Baltic Sea. As the Polish government emphasizes, with the launch of the canal, Poland will break with Russia’s dominance in the region. Ships will gain free access to all ports in the Vistula Lagoon. Thanks to the spit’s diversion, Poland will gain a passage from the Lagoon to the Baltic, independent of Russia. Until now, all ships that would like to go to the Baltic or leave the Baltic for the Vistula Lagoon must pass through the Pilawa Strait, which is under Russia’s jurisdiction. All decisions on the passage of vessels are made in Moscow, which determined the need for the construction of an alternative passage, the Vistula Spit Crossing
The total length of the canal is almost 23 kilometers. The crossing of the Vistula Lagoon alone is just over 10 kilometers, on the Elbląg River also over 10 kilometers. The remaining about 2.5 kilometers is the section that consists of the lock and the outer harbor and berth. The canal, as well as the entire waterway, will eventually have a depth of 5 meters.
– It is with pleasure and joy that he wants to announce that despite the difficult geopolitical position of the Republic of Poland in this part of Europe, despite the winds of wars that have often pinned us to the ground, despite the personal tragedies that Polish families and generations have endured, despite the difficult times, the years of communism and what has also happened over the past 30 years, Poland is victorious here today on the Vistula Spit,” President Andrzej Duda said at the ceremony of launching the channel. [ii]. He added that it doesn’t matter that the new canal won’t allow the largest ships to pass through. – For this we have other places on the coast of the Republic. The point was to keep this road symbolically open, not to ask permission from a country that is not friendly to us, whose authorities do not hesitate to attack and enslave others, as we see today in Ukraine subjected to brutal Russian aggression, President Duda stressed.
The ceremony was also attended by the leaders of Poland’s ruling camp – President of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party Jarosław Kaczyński and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
– (…) I believe that this is another act of what has been for very long years our dream, for Poland to be truly independent, truly sovereign, to be a strong, serious, counting state,” Jarosław Kaczyński said. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, in turn, pointed out that Poland “breaks today, symbolically on the day of the 83rd anniversary of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland, the last shackles of our essentially dependence, our dependence on the Soviet Union.” He also stressed that the Baltic Sea is a great opportunity for Poland. – The Baltic Sea gives us incredible development opportunities,” he said, adding that this must be exploited. [iii]
Next stages of investment ahead
The Vistula Spit Crossing itself, is the first element of the investment, which will close at more than 200 million euros, but complementary investments are needed to make the shipping channel functional. The second stage includes the reconstruction of the existing fairway on the Elbląg River in terms of bank shoring, which will eventually take over the function of earthen dikes, the construction of low harbors to facilitate access to the river, and the construction of a swing bridge over the Elbląg River in Nowakowo, along with changes to the road system. In this regard, work is already underway. The third stage involves the deepening of the waterway on the Vistula Lagoon.
Work on the crosscut has been underway since October 2019. The entire investment is expected to cost nearly 400 million euros, and all work is expected to be completed in September 2023. The waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdansk is to allow vessels up to 100 meters in length and up to 20 meters in width with a draft of 4.5 meters to enter the port of Elblag. [iv]
Dispute over the profitability of investments
The government argues that the purpose of the investment, in addition to geopolitical and strategic benefits, is, among other things, to increase the economic attractiveness of the Warmian-Masurian region in nord – eastern Poland. The new infrastructure solution is expected to drive economic development throughout the region.
Opponents of the investment, on the other hand, argue that the expected profits from the opening of the canal are much lower than the cost of implementing the investment. It is also overshadowed by a dispute over the deepening of the last section in front of the port of Elblag, which in part belongs to the local government. The government is offering to do the work, but at the price of taking control of the port. [v]
Conclusion
The opening of the canal on the Vistula Spit is primarily a symbolic undertaking, showing the cutting of the last ties of dependence on Russia. It opens the way to the open Baltic Sea from Polish ports, which so far have been bound by Russia’s decisions (but not the most important Polish ports). The investment is of great logistical importance in the long term, but much more infrastructure investment and a long time horizon are needed for it to yield economic returns. It may also have important tourism significance.
[i] TVN 24 TV portal https://tvn24.pl/polska/wybory-samorzadowe-kiedy-sie-odbeda-sejm-przeglosowal-nowy-termin-6135628
[ii] Economic portal BusinessInsider.com.pl https://businessinsider.com.pl/gospodarka/przekop-mierzei-wislanej-juz-otwarty/2nervjy
[iii] Information portal WirtualnaPolska.pl https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/otwarcie-przekopu-mierzei-wislanej-trwaja-uroczystosci-6813290570672896a
[iv] Economic portal BusinessInsider.com.pl https://businessinsider.com.pl/gospodarka/przekop-mierzei-wislanej-juz-otwarty/2nervjy
[v] Information portal WirtualnaPolska.pl https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/otwarcie-przekopu-mierzei-wislanej-trwaja-uroczystosci-6813290570672896a