Center for Polish Studies hosts Mayor of Warsaw

The Copernicus Center for Polish Studies hosted its annual Copernicus Lecture Thursday evening featuring Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski. Geneviève Zubrzycki, director of the Copernicus Center, questioned Trzaskowski about how his experience in the Polish government has informed his ideas on Poland’s role in the future of Europe.

The Polish Law and Justice party won control of both the presidency and the parliament in 2015. The party subsequently adopted changes that made the judicial system more vulnerable to political interference. These changes have come under criticism for violating the constitutions of Poland and the European Union. Current Prime Minister Donald Tusk was elected under the Civic Platform Party in 2023, and he is working to reverse changes made by the Law and Justice party. However, these changes are opposed by Andrzej Duda, the current president.

Trzaskowski said several challenges awaited the Polish government in addressing this ongoing rule-of-law crisis.

“We have to do everything according to the law, and according to the procedures, because we do not want to create any doubt that this is not a revenge,” Trzaskowski said. “We just want to put the rule of law back in place. I always get asked, ‘How are you going to safeguard democracy for the future?’ If you have a populist who is willing to break the Constitution, break the rule of law, it’s very difficult to come up with solid safeguards. While restoring the rule of law, we are also thinking about safeguarding for the future.”

Trzaskowski spoke about the impact the Russia-Ukraine war has had on the Polish community, as well as the implications the war has for the credibility of Eastern Europe. 

“Talking about all Ukraine is not just talking about some geopolitical conflict somewhere, but it’s talking about something which is existentially meaningful to us all,” Trzaskowski said. “We are all passing a test. This is not some war in Eastern Europe. If we fail, our credibility will be destroyed. … That’s why in the European Union, we’ve adopted a law which granted Ukrainians a citizen-like status. They have access to free education, free health care, and they work.”

Trzaskowski also spoke about polarization and the divergence in attitudes between Polish political parties, similar to that of the United States. He said social media algorithms are engineered to heighten conflict.

“We live in a very polarized world, and it’s getting worse because of the way in which social media works,” Trzaskowski said. “We need to talk to big tech. We need to be responsible, because the algorithms, as they work, just reinforce conflict. When I publish something nice on my social media, trying to reach across the aisle, I get zero traction.”

Trzaskowski said he advocates teaching people how to distinguish facts from misinformation by using a variety of sources.

“People come into my office and say, ‘Why do you have 20 different biographies of Napoleon?’”  Trszaskowski said. “I say because you want to check, you want to compare. Maybe one or two are written to read very well, maybe others are very academic. For some people, it’s crazy to think why you would have so many books about one topic, but that’s why you have to train yourself to try to look for different sources. Some sources are more vital, some are less. This is what we need to teach.”

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Magdalena Kasprzycka, a freshman at Brigham Young University, said she believes it is important to intentionally seek out accurate information about political matters, regardless of national origin.

“As an American population, as a global people, as a family of people, we all can do better at educating ourselves on both sides, and that means checking facts,” Kasprvyzka said. “A lot of things are biased, which is really difficult to overcome. … Read a book, instead of just scrolling on social media. Actually watch the debate, and invest in yourself and knowledge.”

Rackham student Abbey Skalka said in an interview with The Daily she appreciated the variety of backgrounds of event attendees. 

“I thought it was really cool to see people coming from as far as Cincinnati,” Skalka said. “It’s just cool to see how much an event like this can energize not only the campus community, not only the local community, but a whole regional community, and I’ve been really impressed with conversation and questioning.”

Daily Staff Reporter Thomas Gala-Garza can be reached at tmgala@umich.edu.

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