And we have a run telenovela in which Karol Nawrocki, a candidate supported by the Law and Justice in the presidential race, plays the lead role. A script? A residential galimatias that could inspire the creators of the comedy of mistakes. Nawrocki, an IPN historian, wanted to be a “ordinary Pole” and during the debate he threw that he had 1 apartment, like most of us. Journalists of Onetu looked into the perpetual books and voilà: Mr Karol has not one, but 2 apartments in Gdańsk. And here begins the carousel of translations, which spins faster than the roundabout of electoral promises.
First Nawrocki's staff announced that this second apartment, the studio apartment, belonged formally to the candidate, but he did not usage it due to the fact that he helped an elderly, sick neighbor, Mr. George. Sounds noble, doesn't it? Nawrocki was expected to pay bills, shop, and even buy this flat with a bonificat from the city so that Mr. George would have a place to live. Only that Mr Jerzy, as it turned out, has long lived in the home of Social Welfare, and the bills for its maintenance are paid by the city of Gdańsk. Contact with him disappeared in December 2024, and Nawrocki, as he claims, could not find him. Onetu reporters took hours.
Nawrocki's feeble translations
Translating a candidate and his staff is simply a real festival of contradictions. Emilia Wierzbicki, Nawrocki's spokeswoman, first said that the candidate "never benefited" from this studio and that Mr Jerzy is inactive her "disposal". But wait, wait – how is it a authorising officer erstwhile the 2017 notarial act clearly speaks of sales for PLN 120 thousand? In his interview with Bogdan Rymanowski, Nawrocki explained that he did not immediately transfer this amount, due to the fact that it would be a "risk to life and health" of Mr Jerzy, so he gave money in installments. erstwhile they began to dig into how many instalments and when, the answers became more vague. And erstwhile it came to light that the 3rd apartment, written in the will by the mother, appeared in the property statement, the staff added that it was “for transparency”. Well, if it's transparency, it's alternatively a fog.
PiS politicians, like Adam Bielan, or Przemysław Czarnek are trying to save the situation, suggesting that it is an attack of services and “medias friends with power”. But even in the organization you can hear nervousness – the matter, although legally it may be pure, is simply a disaster. Nawrocki was expected to be a candidate of "ordinary Poles", and meantime he looks like individual who plays a residential solitaire while his neighbour lands in DPS. On the Internet, hula said a social candidate PiS, who said, "Seniors cannot feel safe." Indeed, especially those with a municipal flat – any mock.
But let's leave the political push for a while, and let's look at this from a different angle, due to the fact that there's something much more serious under the layer of run hustle. The communicative of Mr. George – an older, lonely man who gives his flat in exchange for a promise of care – is not just Nawrocki's problem. This is simply a symptom of an expanding social drama that affects more and more people in Poland: loneliness, poorness and desperate conflict to last in an ageing society.
Mr. Jerzy, like many people his age, had 1 "insurance policy" – a condo he could buy from the city for a penny. For specified people, it is frequently the only asset, the last resort. In exchange for the promise of care – whether it's paying bills, buying or just being around – they give back everything they have. Only, as this communicative shows, specified agreements frequently end in disappointment. Mr. Jerzy landed in DPS, and his apartment, worth PLN 300-500 1000 today, is in the hands of individual who, as he himself admits, has lost contact with him. This is not an isolated case. In Poland there will be more and more specified stories.
Will there be more specified cases?
Demography leaves no illusions. According to CSO data, in 2050 all 3rd Pole will be over 65 years old and the number of people aged 80+ will increase twice. At the same time, the number of children is decreasing and families are increasingly dispersed – children go to large cities or abroad, leaving older parents alone. The pandemic of loneliness, which is deepening these trends, is already visible: according to CBOS investigation from 2023, 20% of seniors in Poland have no 1 to talk to about their problems. In specified conditions, alienation and poorness become everyday, and the desperate search for aid – as in the case of Mr George – leads to situations where older people lose the last thing that gives them a sense of security.
It is worth noting that giving up an flat in exchange for a place in the home of Social Assistance is not only a casual situation, but alternatively an component of the strategy of many specified centres. This practice, although seldom commented on in Poland, is besides well known in the West, where any countries systematically encourage seniors to transfer their properties in exchange for life care. but this model, although it worked for years, is starting to break today. We live longer and care costs increase faster than average housing. As a result, money obtained from real property – whether by the state or by private “careers” – is increasingly not adequate to supply decent conditions for the remainder of their lives. The hazard of burning out housing policies becomes a real threat. What to do in specified a situation?
What should the state do?
Left-wing consequence (Rojewski): The Social Democratic consequence to this problem must include the improvement of a public long-term care network, available independently of individual assets. It is not only about DPS, which is missing in Poland, but besides about local forms of support – day-to-day care homes or environmental assistance. A public welfare fund is besides needed for this, which could be powered from a division and the profits of investment funds.
But even adding more suitcases of money won't solve the problem of demography (we'll talk about another time). Today, it is worth making it clear: without smart, planned migration, we will not keep the social welfare strategy at a level even close to Western standards. This is simply a subject that almost all political parties in Poland are afraid of, but which can no longer be avoided. We request a fresh migration policy – based on real labour marketplace needs and demographic structure, not on fear and run slogans.
We have good experiences, even with migration from Vietnam. akin opportunities are given by cooperation with countries like the Philippines – Catholic, family-friendly societies that can supplement our staff shortages in healthcare, services and production. Let people from these regions of the planet look for happiness over Vistula – in return we can not only avoid the demographic catastrophe, but besides gain fresh citizens who will aid us take care of millions of aging Poles and Poles. Poland will become 1 of the Western countries – with all its advantages and disadvantages – whether we like it or not. The choice is simple: either we become an open and safe country, or we are locked and in poorness of old age.
Right-wing consequence (Stativa): From a conservative-free marketplace perspective, the solution to the problem of elder loneliness and poorness should be based on strengthening conventional social structures and the free market, without relying on migration from countries with different cultures. Today, the focus on the “me” and the breakdown of the foundations building the household will be highly difficult. possibly not impossible. It is crucial to rebuild household and local ties through taxation breaks for families taking care of seniors, specified as income taxation exemptions for children holding parents or sharing a household with them. specified financial incentives can motivate younger generations to become more active in the care of older household members, strengthening the conventional model of the multigenerational family.
At marketplace level, it is worth promoting the improvement of private care services, specified as private nursing homes or home support companies, while introducing welfare vouchers. These vouchers, partially financed by the State, would let seniors to choose the services best suited to their needs alternatively than making them dependent on the inefficient public DPS system. It is besides crucial to regulate life imprisonment contracts in order to defend elder citizens from abuse – for example through mandatory notarial guarantees of care and audits of their implementation.
Additionally, the conservative approach emphasizes the activation of seniors and local communities. Support programmes for NGOs, parishes or neighbouring organizations could make local aid networks specified as elder clubs or intergenerational volunteering. The State should facilitate specified initiatives, for example through operating grants or simplified procedures. In this way, it is possible to build a sense of community that will reduce the loneliness of seniors, without having to search solutions requiring the integration of culturally alien groups.
Which solution suits you more? compose to [email protected] and we will print your letters at www.angora24.pl
Jan Rojewski – Journalist. He published among others in Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita, Oneta and Politique. For 5 years he has been associated with the weekly Angora, in which he is liable for the portal Angola24.pl
Przemysław Staciwa – writer and tv presenter. He published among others in Liberte and Review Week. He worked on Toya tv and TVP3 Łódź. Associated with the Warsaw Enterprise Institute, for which he records the program "The taxation Destroyer".
