Polish presidential election in 2025 – the candidates

How time flies! This is the fourth presidential election in my homeland commented on this blog. In 2010 the vote was held in the shadow of the Smolenskair crash. In 2015 the election paved the way to PiS getting hold of power for 8 years. In 2020 the vote had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

Let’s have a subjective overview of candidates voters in Poland will be able to choose from on 18 May 2025.

Rafał Trzaskowski became a natural contender after in 2020, upon being swapped for Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, in not entirely fair duel, scored 49% of votes. Five years ago his freshness added him popularity. Today, he seems to have squandered some of energy, faith and hope put in him. In this campaign he buries a burden of fatigue with liberal-leftist coalition having majority in the Polish parliament since late 2023. For many his biggest merit is handsomeness and fluency in foreign languages. For right-wing wackos he embodies all evils of the liberal elites and is a symbol of progressive leftist agenda. I fear his crew might fire up “Kamala” protocol which will not earn him more voters but might discourage floating electorate from putting a cross against him. His biggest asset seems to be his wife, starkly contrasting with the incumbent first lady.

Karol Nawrocki, formally a “civic” candidate, but effectively avidly supported by PiS. Nearly unknown a few months ago, enjoys support in polls a few percentage points lower than the party backing him. Apparently not a bright spark, lacks clear opinions on many issues, when asked directly, gives evasive answers. If he does not make it to the run-off, which is conceivable, a major reshuffle in Polish politics might be in the offing.

Sławomir Mentzen, burnt and bruised after his defeat in the parliamentary election in 2023, has learnt from mistakes made then. He ousted madcaps such as Grzegorz Braun and Janusz Korwin-Mikke from Konfederosja and now his party has a façade of a civilised right-wing grouping. Beware though, he and his cronies remain pernicious. In polls he has recently caught up with Mr Nawrocki, now they go neck in neck. The hideous bloke is less likely to win the election than the PiS-backed candidate, but his victory in the long-term would be more detrimental to Poland.

Szymon Hołownia, a rising star of the presidential election in 2020, then a superb speaker of the parliament, currently is not fighting for presidency, but to reinforce his grouping, so that it does not fall below 5%. I somewhat regret never voting for him, as he deserved it. Sadly, the potential has been wasted. I hope before the run-off he clearly hands over his support to Mr Trzaskowski.

The two leftist candidates – Magdalena Biejat and Adrian Zandberg probably have cumulative support of approximately 5%. Left-wing electorate would rather cast votes for Mr Trzaskowski right away.

Other contenders are unlikely to get more than 2% of votes each, hence their participation in the race is rather for the sake of marking their presence in politics, rather than chasing the actual victory.

Odds of another post on the campaign before the election day are rather tiny, unless an unforeseen twist of action changes my mind and will prompt me to focus my attention on politics.

Selling the car - again

For the third time in my life I am in charge of getting rid of a vehicle. In 2016 selling my 13-year-old Megane II went on surprisingly smoothly and the buyer did not even try to haggle. Last year I co-ordinated disposal of my father's 8-year-old Megane IV (which he swapped for a brand-new Skoda Scala, fulfilling, to quote him, the last dream in his lifetime). Since his vehicle was fitted with a nefarious 1.2 TCe 130 HP engine, the interest was meagre, but eventually it was purchased by AAA auto at a very decent price. The procedure went quickly (they pay with cash) and soon I could track the car being put up for sale for next nearly 100 days. Not really sure whether the trader earned much on it.

For the past year, Megane III was kept mostly to help my ex-girlfriend hone her driving skills, but with such reason to keep two cars being no longer valid, I am seeking new owner for it. I have big sentiment for this vehicle. It kept me company for more than 8 years, outlived three romantic relationships, visited several countries. So far it has been quite reliable, given its age of almost 14 years and mileage of almost 115,000 kilometres. I fear it might catch up in terms of trouble making, hence I have decided to sell it to a stranger and refuse to trade it to any of my friends (including the ex-girlfriend who had reserved the right of first refusal).

To prepare it for a new owner, it had oil, filters, brake and coolant liquid, battery changed, handbrake repaired and then the car went through MOT (no issues found). PLN 2,000 gone out of my pocket, but a new owner will be likely not to put any money into the car some time after the purchase.

I put up an ad (another PLN 100 spent), but so far the interest is not huge. I have learnt the 1.4 TCe engine, which has not caused any problems since leaving showroom, is a piece of shit, likely to fall apart after 150,000 - 200,000 kilometres, even despite changing oil every year and placid driving until the engine warms up.

I prefer to omit an intermediary, especially since I have handled all preparatory works myself, and find a private individual buyer. Consignment deal is ruled out, since I would be deprived of a car for weeks with no guarantee it is sold. Selling it to a trader is an option to be considered if I received a cash payment up-front.

In 2016 I sold Megane II for PLN 11,000, more than the equivalent of my pre-tax monthly salary then. This year Megane III, a few months older than its precedessor at the time of disposal, will definitely be traded by less than my pre-tax monthly wage. My earnings have moved on, but prices of used cars have gone up by a similar percentage as of factory-new ones.

Oddly enough, despite more advanced age and higher mileage, Megane III is in better technical condition than Megane II. The previous car was already trouble-making, Megane III is probably in the eve of becoming a time bomb. It will not require substantial financial outlays (unless its engine indeed conks out one day), but the hassle of small repairs might be bothersome.

In spite of several good memories connected with the vehicle, I strive to be an emotionless vendor. My pricing strategy is to bring down asking price by PLN 500 every eight days and be open to let a buyer beat down the settlement price by no more than 8%.

Despite my misgivings about its reliability, I sincerely hope it serves somebody well for next years, just like ex-mine Megane II does. It has not changed hands since November 2016 and keeps running until now, despite quite advanced age of 22.

13 pięter - book review

A yet another book, which has come into my hands belatedly, oddly enough the read nearly ideally coincided with the tenth anniversary of the work being first published. Basically, I once had a chance to meet him in person and since then am fond of Filip Springer’s essays, despite not being truly convinced by his leftist tilt. Recently he provoked an uproar by claiming for climate-related reasons, building detached houses should be gradually prohibited. Extreme views and ideas activate defiance and help the pendulum swing into the other extreme.

From today’s perspective, the book, dealing with housing pathologies in Poland, is a sort of outdated. It begins with a bleak picture of pre-WW2 Warsaw where growing number of residents was not matched by a rising number of flats caused a huge overcrowding in dwellings occupied by a working class. For 90% of families living in the capital of Poland having a housing unit (unit as a separate room, nor a separate flat) for the entire family (i.e. with no roommates) only was a luxury.

The author for some reason omits 45 years of communism, when the number of new dwelling relatively well caught up with rising population of Poland and standards of living improved (in spite of all the drawbacks of the bygone system). The author arranged his book as a series of stories and interviews, in which he attempts to paint an accurate picture of reality, without evaluating it or pointing what is right and what is wrong. But if you read carefully between the lines, you get several messages, e.g. that home ownership is overrated or mortgages are evil and will enslave you.

The book was written when the memory of property boom of 2006-2008, accompanied by reckless mortgage lending in CHF was relatively fresh. Also bankruptcies of developers were much more frequent a decade ago than they are now. But on the other hand, the book was written soon past the only property market serious correction, when prices between 2008 and 2012 fell by 25% in nominal terms.

For no apparent reason Mr Springer fails to crack down on pathologies of modern housing estates, such as non-functional layouts, tiny distances between buildings, rows of terraced houses built in the middle of nowhere and many other.

The accursed ownership, as his interlocutors point out, gives a sense of security. To make a house and home you need to own it. Such approach has been driven by decades of private ownership being eradicated by communists and then by years of landlords’ primacy over tenants. The properly rental market has also evolved over the last decade. With rising supply of dwellings for rent (flat purchased for investment purposes when bank deposits fetched a mediocre return), bargaining power of landlords waned and many of them began treat tenants as equal counterparties. A stride has been made, yet a flat rented from a private landlord still does not offer stability and its affordability remains as poor as it was a decade ago.

Unlike the author, I believe properties should be subject to free-market rules, but I would expect the government to help supply and demand meet where prices are affordable. Sadly, recent governments mostly boosted demand by subsidising mortgage loans, instead of taking steps towards increasing supply of available dwellings. I refer here not only to building council flats or encouraging property developers to pursue new projects. It is also about levying taxes on uninhabited properties, to discourage those with surpluses of money from speculative purchases.

Half-year health musings

Exactly six months have elapsed since the biggest health crisis in my lifetime. I am now far from despair of being immobilised, yet still not being truly fit, which might never be the case, given irreversible nature of spine devastation.

I have recently learnt a new adage: healthy people have several quandaries, while ailing people have only one quandary. It brilliantly illustrates how problems with health might turn lives upside down.

A new chapter of my tribulations opened up in January. In early phase I put it down to break-up-related stress, yet then a penny dropped and I went to have an MRI done and consult my doctor, as some symptoms, such as atypical pain during and after lying on my back (a position which ought to give relief to spine) seemed upsetting. Currently I am in process of being diagnosed if I am in an early phase of ankylosing spondylitis (in simple words, a protracted inflammation of spine joints). I believe the likelihood of being affected by this disease is below 50%, yet if indeed it gripped me, a therapy to prevent its development will be put in place swiftly.

I try to remain optimistic, despite having it uphill in recent months. I revert to gratitude for what is still within my reach and for financial resources coming in useful and shy away from negativity and focusing on what has been taken away from me. Back single I should cycle, run, take up new things and generally live it up. Instead, I am redefining myself without dopamine produced during physical exercise.

The new wave of pain, less acute, yet disturbing coincides with reading this international bestseller. In his lengthy book, the author points out long-lasting stress or traumas contribute to most autoimmunological diseases, including cancer. Suppressed emotions remain in a body, accumulate and after a tipping point is reach, the body begins to destroy itself. The book contains stories of people who neglected themselves to take care of others and likely paid a price of ruined health. Despite approaching it with a bit of scepticism, I acknowledge scientifically the theory holds water and has provoked me to revise if my benevolence to the world is not excessive.

The memories of being bed-ridden in September 2024 haunt me frequently these days. I consider myself to be a rational man, however wonder if the timing of my ailment was not haphazard. Maybe thus the fate has prevented me from popping a question and brought forward the inevitable break-up of the dead-end relationship? Maybe the stiffness in my lumbar spine, hips and several other parts of my body is a wake-up call to take care of myself?

A new bicycle

Problems with the lumbar spine which turned my life upside down nearly half a year ago continue to have impact on my functioning and to some extent might constrain my life until the end of my days. My orthopaedist told me in back in September once I return to mobility, a mountain bike would not be an option. I first sat on my old bike after the crisis on 26 October, rode 3.4 kilometres around the neighbourhood to do the shopping and regretted it. Since then I cycled locally on warm winter days, but trips totalled to no more than 6 kilometres. Each time I felt it more or less in my spine, despite quite short length of journeys.

The key to not straining the spine is siting upright, which after some research turned out to be facilitated by a trekking bike with 23-inch frame, shock absorber under the saddle and regulated handlebar. Upon consulting a local renowned bike maintenance expert, I have chosen Unibike Vision GTS 23, manufactured in 2024 and purchased on the coldest day of the passing winter, still ahead of the imminent spring-triggered price list revision.

I took it for a post-factory maintenance and had a short first cycle. After years of riding a mountain bike, I still have to get used to the upright position, but my spine did not remind me of itself past the ride.

The bike has decent fixtures and is equipped with all accessories, therefore no additional purchase were required. It set my back PLN 2,429, however I bought the last one in Poland at such bargain price, as the catalogue price is PLN 2,699. The condition of my spine will likely mean a farewell to really long (above 50 kilometres) trips, mountain cycling and difficult terrain. The bike will be used recreationally and to give up on car usage whenever possible (in situations when public transport is not practicable).

I am slowly reconciling myself with the list of forbidden activities. Flights to another continent – likely out of question, the planet will be grateful and I will not visit the country which elected Donald Trump. A eurotrip by car with a few thousand kilometres behind the wheel within a fortnight – also unlikely. All-day mountain hikes, even with sticks – not yet. Taking up some new sport disciplines during which a spine could suffer either a sudden shock or would require being long in the same position – not recommended.

On Thursday I visited the orthopaedist, to consult my most recent MRI and to tell about my recent pain symptoms, which are totally different than what I had experienced half a year ago. He looked at the pictures, examined me and it seems my recent pains, far less acute and not impairing mobility, can be traced back to hip joints. Another therapy has just commenced. I hope it eases some discomfort and broaden the range of activities allowed without excessive risk of self-harm. Keep fingers crossed for me.