Blek srajdej

Why do we, Poles, have to embrace every single idiocy devised by the American capitalism? To quote Leo, for money! There is no better way to induce a slow-witted consumer to spend their money on stuff they (usually) don’t actually need than persuading them they are buying at bargain prices.

Black Friday (hailing from the USA, where it falls right after the Thanksgiving) is rather a novelty in Poland, as a decade ago, or even five years ago if it was celebrated, then by few. In 2018 blek srajdej is all the rage. Upshot: shopping malls chock full of people and online distributors’ websites crashing. I have witnessed stories of people taking a day off to indulge in bargain-hunting shopping and got infuriated by workmates collectively hunting bargains online in the office while I tried to focus on work.

A thrifty consumer with a head screwed-in can easily grow sick of advertisements of countless discounts and sales assaulting them from all angles that make them want to puke, but not make them give in.

The best one can do not to get carried away by the craze is to think what you actually need. I need rest, therefore I had decided to shun shops on Friday. Had done the little shopping in a discount shop on Thursday evening and ate a self-cooked lunch in the office on Friday. On Friday not a single grosz fled my wallet, nor my bank account, nor my credit card. Such was my uncanny way of celebrating the blek srajdej.

To be fair, yesterday I purchased lighting to my flat at bargain prices (and have not found crowds at the shop) and today I am heading to DIY supermarket to buy some kitchen equipment at bargain prices. My excuse is that I need that stuff, not go shopping for kicks.

The trade ban on Sundays has laid bare how badly Poles are addicted to shopping and to what disturbing extent they treat it as pastime activity. While I treat a trip to a shop as a task (go, buy, tick off), most people go there for pleasure to pass time and waste money. This looks like a perfect starting point to a rant on virtues of protestant work ethics whose contradiction is the today’s debt-financed thoughtless consumerism, reaching its peak in pre-Christmas period. Even if indeed it is perfect, I am giving it a rest for a while. Short of time again, but remont moving on – will post some pictures in a week or two.

Recordings for the record

SLD government in the first half of 2000s was sent under by the Rywin scandal. First PiS government was sent under by the arable-land corruption scandal leakage. The PO-PSL government began to fall apart after conversations of prominent politicians of the party, eavesdropped in a restaurant were published.

The joy of anti-PiSites that the unfolding KNF scandal with help overthrow the current PiS government is premature. Firstly, we still know too little about the story. Secondly, the government acts firmly and calmly (with some ludicrous exceptions) tackling the scandal (i.e. those who have no chance to be defended stand down, others where nothing can be proven at this stage, refute accusations). Thirdly, the circumstances of revealing  the scandal (why have they waited for more than half a year) and persons behind it (Leszek Czarnecki, not being crystal-clear businessman, nor his businesses and Roman Giertych, formerly a prime minister in first PiS government, since some five years, the chief barrister of the prominent no-PiS politicians) have all makings of a straightforward political game (this is it).

To assess political impact, find out what an average citizen who knows little about finance understands of it. An average Pole his little grasp of how banks are supervised, what the mechanism of bank bail-out is, why banks go to the wall, etc. They understand two basis threads: “fix up my crony with a job and pay 40 million and we’ll get off your back”. Voters have allergy with bribery and nepotism, the former being combatted by PiS, the latter being nurtured.

Commentators get outraged or excited by the notion of a bank being taken over for a single zloty. The world of finances has seen such transactions, such as Barings bank being taken over by ING for one pound, or Banco Popular being taken over by Banco Santander for one euro. Such deals were co-ordinated by central banks and regulators for the sake of financial stability. The difference is must be underlined is that all aforementioned banks bought for a single currency unit had gone insolvent on their own. In KNF scandal, PiS wanted to use financial supervision authorities to drive Czarnecki’s banks (not actually heathly, but not yet under water) to bankruptcy and nationalise them (in other instances private capital had to aid).

The very outbreak of the scandal has already taken its toll at Getin Bank and Idea Bank. Both institutions raised the pricing of deposits offered to clients, to around 200 basis points above interbank market rates. This indicates the banks struggle to stem the outflows of deposits (and remind on their webpages with capital letters that deposits are insured under Bank Guarantee Fund) and I would to be surprised to see a run on Getin and Idea. If this happens, deposit withdrawals can be suspended and Czarnecki might be forced to file for insolvency of his banking businesses. If he goes under water, the question is who else he drags down.

The Independence Day musings

Last Sunday PiS was given a marvellous beating in the run-off of mayoral elections. The party’s candidates were turned down in nearly all cities, including strongholds of Kaczynski’s grouping such as Radom or Podkarpackie province. With Chelm (63 thousand residents) being the largest city where elected mayor hails from PiS, the ruling party has seen a middle finger showed by non-rural electorate. In provincial Poland, the party keeps faring well though.

Tomorrow is a bank holiday. Formally enacted three working days in advance, plunging into chaos most entities whose workings are not based on spontaneity. An additional day off was put forward and passed into law by lawmakers and their notary who have little notion about how real life functions and definitely have never had insight into how difficult running an enterprise is. This unwanted gift, being a blatant violation of basic rules governing legislative process in a civilised country where a government is a predictable lawmakers, comes in useful especially for those willing to get tanked up today evening and cure hangover tomorrow (pardon, celebrate the Independence Day in dignity). My workload is not going to diminish because of the additional day off, but delay in my remont (slowly moving forward) will be one day longer and I will have to stay overtime to make up for the time lost tomorrow (hopefully the weather gets clement). Those far worse off are the ones who had doctor appointments or court hearings scheduled for tomorrow and will have to wait several months for another ones. Everyone had known in advance 11 November would fall on Sunday in 2018, the additional day off could have been decided several months ago, our economy would have afforded an extra day, but would have been spared the accompanying chaos.

The bank holiday was not the only part of celebrations organised at eleventh hour. On Wednesday, as the mayor of Warsaw banned (ineffectively, but respect to court ruling is overriding virtue) the nationalists’ march, president Duda and prime minister Morawiecki staged their own one. The upshot was that the government had to negotiate a common event with the far-right organisations. In practice, though formally there was only on march, it got split up into politicians of PiS marching peacefully at the front, and a whole lot biggest group of neo-fascists (and ordinary citizens) chasing them (shortly after 4 p.m. prominent politicians made away from the scene in their limousines). The nationalists, predictably duped the government, as the march was meant to be devoid of several symbols which were visible. The good thing is that riots did not break up and acts of vandalism were sparse, if any.

My own perception and pursuit of patriotism do not square with flag waving. I define patriotism as paying taxes, not throwing rubbish anywhere else but to bins, looking after common property, observance of law, respect for fellow men, small deeds which make a community’s life more comfortable.

Actually such shameful outcome of Independence Day celebrations is astonishing given how pompous in terms of patriotism the ruling party is. The upside of the disgrace is that with every next misstep, with every little piece their screw up, the number of mobilised opponents of the party grows. In less than a year, the government of PiS might be a memory (though at the moment the most realistic scenario is PiS winning, but lacking absolute majority and bound to eat up its coalitional partner or buy off single deputies from other parties), yet this is too little to be cheerful. Even if the oppositional parties get their act together or rather the ruling party continues with its string of failures, victory of Koalicja Obywatelska is not enough. Firstly, the winners must not fall out over the power sharing. Secondly, they must come up with a comprehensive plan how to mend what has been spoilt by PiS since 2015. Thirdly, several millions Poles being avid believers of Kaczynski still live in this country and this is their homeland as well, no matter how horrific their mindset for non-PiSites is. Few reasons for joy, several reasons to pull up sleeves, lots of work lies ahead.

Odds and ends

Early days of November (and the last ones of October) brought over Poland a wave of anomalous warmth (on the same time Western swathes of Europe shivered). On Friday (2 November 2018) November heat record for Warsaw was broken (high of +19.2C vs. +18.9C measured on 1 November 2001); on the next day temperature record for the entire Poland was beaten (+24.6C vs. +23.5C on 2 November 1968). Conceivably some local records might be beaten in next days, as the hot spell, after a short weekend break, is about to continue until Thursday, but I doubt record-high temperatures will be seen, as days are getting shorter and the current of warm air flowing in from over Africa is waning.

Besides, forecasters are getting it wrong in their short-term predictions too often these days. The climax of the “heat wave” in Warsaw was foreseen to fall on 1 November, while the next day was meant to be some 3 degrees colder; eventually it went exactly the other way round. Today was meant to be a sunny and warm Sunday with day-time high of +17C, in fact the capital has not seen a single sunbeam, but it drizzled all day, temperature failed to climb above +12C. I had planned to close the cycling season today (spent Friday in the office so could not make the most the +19.2C), but as it turns out, I probably enjoyed the last ride on 13 October 2018 (which saw the day-time high of +21.6C).

I pedalled from Bielany south along the Vistula. Infrastructure for cyclists on the western bank of the river is well-developed and on most sections pedestrians and cyclists have their areas separated. Plenty of people were out to lap up what seemed to be the last weekend of summer.

It was the second time I crossed Vistula using the cycling precinct built beneath the roads of Most Łazienkowski, the bridge rebuilt and revamped after the blaze in February 2015. Thumbs up for this passage letting the non-motorised cross the river away from the traffic.

On my way north, on the eastern bank I made stopovers on several beaches. It was past four in the afternoon, yet still many folks were hanging around and catching rays of low-shining sun. They knew some six months of sparse sunlight and chill in abundance would have to pass before the comeback of warmth.

Further north the cycling trail swings away from the river and runs on the embankment. It was ten past five and temperature markedly fell. The number of cyclists on that section also declined, though maybe these areas are not as popular, especially in low season.

Heading back to my dwelling (no, not home, home is in Ursynów or at my parents’) I cannot wait to move out of (for some reason I feel the temporary place of residence at best lacks a good energy) – the setting sun shines in my face. Next year I promise to take much more trips by bike north of Warsaw. By early spring the remont will have been over, the flat will have been furnished. Sweet dreams…

On the remont front, the builders have brought their tools yesterday and tomorrow works kick off for good. The living room is now full not only of construction materials but also of tools. As works move on, it will also be full of rubbish and each Saturday will start with clearing up (I prefer to do it myself and have builders focusing on their work).

Traces of rewiring are seen in the empty kitchen. The first works here, after flattening the floors, will be renovations of walls. Then tile laying should ensue thereafter. On Wednesday I found a guy who will do kitchen furniture to me – the last thing to be arranged to ensure things move on smoothly down the line ticked off.

The snap of the toilet and the bathroom taken three weeks ago, but inserted here instead of the one taken today, as today’s pic was too blurred (nothing has changed since then, sadly, but as my friend commented, kibel jest, można mieszkać). Now a bit of patience and it will be lifted from ruins and become a cosy place to live.

Life-wise, I am trying to lift myself from being down in the dumps (this is not the relapse of depression, but a combination of factors that brought together get me down), but circumstances resemble headwinds rather than tailwinds...