News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

I have to disagree. Farmers, tradesmen, and other non trained economic decision makers should not be in charge of economic policy. What Poland has right now is a teacher with zero economic or job experience being told what to do from a dinosaur in political policy making. PiS and PO are not the same economically. The hole in the economy created by PiS and the give aways will kill this country economically sooner rather than later. The completely restrictive business policy is a double whammy. Taxes, and ZUS are completely out of control because of PiS. Who pays for this? Our children, grand children and great grandchildren will pay. And no one is thinking about them and the country that will be left to them. Its really embarrassing.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@Spike31
I actually agree with your take on the "elite" and "non elite" in Poland and USA. The extreme groups on both sides are simply stupid. As I have said before, PiS has some good platforms I would support on immigration, and non LGBT education or promotion of those values. The other side with open immigration is more of a think tank idea that they know will never completely fly but they want to appear to be EU friendly, same with LGBTQ rights, they know that most of it will never happen because Poland is Poland in the end.

Being a pragmatist though, neither of these groups will ever be able to full achieve their goals. They are too extreme. The real problem is who is better for the economy, education and health care. PiS has clearly pooped the bed on all three counts. The economy is propped up by state owned corporations that have to be phased out anyway, local business owners are getting killed by ZUS going up every year along with wages, yet the Zloty is continuing to decline. Health care is an absolute disaster and they give TVP 3 billion a year?!?! Teachers are treated like cockroaches and they wonder why Poles are not leading innovators in any field?

Growth is spurred by innovation, and money. Not coal and building worthless public projects with EU money. PiS has no clue what to do when the EU money stops flowing in and Poland becomes a net payer into the EU. The problem with all this, getting back to Spikes assertion is that the uneducated have no idea about what any of this means because they are uneducated and many only care about their free money. Anyone who cant see this as a real problem needs to get their eyes checked.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

Duda in danger with his voters thinking its in the bag IMO. This is going to be very close either way. This alone should say something to PiS that they need to do things differently. Whether they get bounced out this time or not, their days are clearly numbered. As the old die, and the uneducated who have educated children become more aware of their childrens opinions and wants, the old ways will die off.

This has been Polands problem since the country was restored, older people trying to tell the younger people how to act and think while still hopping for all the benefits that the western society has to offer. There is no way this can happen. When people talk about voting against someone or some party, clearly it is a sign that the status quo is not working.

When the June unemployment numbers come out, people should really think about how poorly the shield worked. They should think that the only unemployment numbers that are reported are for those Poles who can file, and not for roughly one million more Ukraine who do not file who have not come back, or those millions who work without a contract in the service industry that has been decimated.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@Dirk diggler
Dirk do you need a reading comprehension class? I said "American influence" I didnt say American purchasing. Poland gives a big crap about USA business, clearly you havent been here in a while.

Troops from Germany arent going to Poland, Trump already said so. Lets not brag about Trump being "pro Poland" in one thread and say the US doesnt mean much to Poland in another. The US military is everything to Poland. Fort Trump was Duda's idea, and Trump is reported to have said it was a funny idea. Funny. Not serious. Without the USA military, Russia is over the border in short order, no doubt making some people here happy.

Without the USA military, US business is not in Poland. If you want to support PiS, just do so with some facts. Someone please show me some facts, some policy other than stone age absolutely stupid policy to advance a social agenda that JK thinks intelligent people dont understand. Someone please so me one policy that will move Poland forward, and not rely on EU handouts, or taxing and ZUSing the $__* out of the few smart business people in the country.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
Buddy you are delusional. You have no idea what the shield money went to. People who I know are still waiting for money promised to them almost 4 months ago. All you trolls who dont even live in Poland really should be ashamed of yourselves. Tax fraud? Really? You mean the VAT scams that were paid by the EU and not Poland? Do you even understand how the tax system is set up here? "We" who is we? Because you dont even live here. You have zero at stake here.

@Dirk diggler
I respect your opinion on a lot of things, but the GDP inflation was largely due to American influence. If Poland becomes "unfriendly" to American business interests, tax and ZUS wise, the GDP will go in the toilet over night. I wonder what GDP looks like this year and for the next few years. Projections from experts for Poland are not good at all.

The question is, will Poland follow the EU lead and keep Americans out when the border reopens in two days or will Duda and PiS show some ball$ and go against the EU. This will tell us who PiS really is.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
Ideology as in immigration etc, I am fine with. I actually support the immigration policy non Pole amiga500 with zero stake in the race. The EU money came in months ago you economic know nothing. It went to big business. You have no clue whats happening here. You dont see what people are going through. Duda capitalizes on uneducated and poor people lack of information and the ability to understand the bigger picture.

I am free to move my business anywhere. Thats true. I am also free to take those tax revenues to another location, along with those ZUS payments and those of my employees. So are other businesses, and I assure you, that people will look for better opportunity when these idiots raise ZUS again next year.

Some day this country will have to pay this debt, and what then? A vote for Duda is a vote for the past and not the future. Voting for PiS is voting against the futures of Polish children. Please argue with me how PiS has improved education and health care since they have been in office.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
Wrong. It was USA economic policy and the States taxes that lead me to discover I could save money on corporate tax in Poland. It is Polish PiS ZUS policy that is making me consider moving the company to Slovakia. You have zero business acumen and understand nothing of economics.

@amiga500
EU stimulus has done ZERO for Poland economy. Record number of business closures, and unemployment will top 8% this month, not including the nearly one million Ukraine who have lost work because of business closure. Anyone preaching this economic EU recovery for Poland has no clue about economics or jobs.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@Spike31
Only problem is voter turnout in round 2 wont be close to round 1. Before we start guessing where the other non Duda voters will vote, maybe looking how the last elections non first round winners voted in the second round. The numbers they showed on TVN with those facts might surprise you. Duda clearly won the first round, we expected it. But 43 percent is not 50% or better. Its a stretch to think he has this wrapped up. If it were wrapped up we wouldnt be having a second round.

I would never, under any circumstances vote for PiS who has zero economic plan and have been an economic disaster. They have stepped all over the courts and make the country one that people laugh about. This is how people want the world to view Poland? And then we wonder why Poland can not match the economies of developed Europe?

Eventually, regardless of whether Duda wins or not, PiS will die with JK. Sooner would be better than later for the country.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
Stalin would be proud.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
They spent the 3 billion pln real fast LMAO

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

Lets make one thing clear, Trump did not promise to move the troops from Germany to Poland. That is completely false. The whole troop scale down is a political move to get Germany to stop playing EU games. Now the EU is playing back with talking about banning Americans over china flu. Like EU is saying no to Ukraine being allowed entry, but Poland already opened that border.

Google investing millions into Poland is like Tomasz the grocer buying new shelves for his store. Virtually zero economic impact but it sure looks nice.

If just one party could come up with a pro democracy, pro economic growth and anti EU policy, I think they could sweep the political scene in Poland. But I am dreaming.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]


There is no endorsement there. Its an opinion piece. At no time did Trump say he endorses Duda, or that he supports his re-election. Trump isnt that stupid.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@Cargo pants
Where did he endorse him? Not any time yesterday. Saying Duda "will be very successful" in the upcoming election is not an endorsement. Its conjecture. Another twist of words that has no resemblance of reality.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@pawian
If they declared a state of emergency, the country would collapse. This "democracy" is not strong enough to withstand such games. The United States would abandon Poland overnight. Declare a state of emergency over what? Pandemic? They have fixed everything. No, they have set their course and now have to ride this out.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@delphiandomine
This is exactly what I expected. It's Duda against the world, and the world is chipping away at the PiS foundation. With three days to go Duda better pull a rabbit out of a hat somewhere. What happens when Duda doesn't strike a knockout blow on Sunday? When the second round comes he really only has Bosak to get a little help from. The rest will make deals. I wonder what JK said to Duda when he came back?

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

Someone in the PiS campaign office needs to answer for this absolute failure of a trip to visit Trump. Without some guarantee on some kind of deal in place, spending a few days right before the election chasing Trump for a breadcrumb makes no sense. Maybe as someone suggested a while ago JK wants Duda to fail. It sure looks like it from this move. I can't even imagine Duda flying back to Poland and what is going on in his head.

@Ziemowit
Trump has actually filed for bankruptcy several times with his companies. He has openly said that bankruptcy is a "tool" to be used to reset things in business. While its a shady tool to use, I agree with him.

The relationship or perceived relationship between Trump and Duda is really odd. While many policy initiatives concerning LGBTQ and immigration are similar, they are so far apart on economic issues that it doesn't make sense. Looking at the people Trump surrounds himself with, Duda doesn't fit the profile of anyone Trump would associate with. That said, Poland bought a whole bunch of fighter planes this year, and Trump is a great salesman.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

LMAO Duda and Trump press conference LMAO Duda gets NOTHING from his visit!!! Nothing! What a freaking idiot. He couldnt even get a commitment for 1000 more troops. He couldnt get anything! This is the Polish eagle. Not even respected enough to get a big mack on the way out the door.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
You're embarrassing yourself. You have no stake in this country. One post you say PiS reduced red tape, the next you say it was incremental. You have likely never stepped foot in Poland. You refuse to even answer the question. Then you post more of the gay stuff. That's PiS best swing for the fences? Gay bashing? Its laughable how weak the whole party is. The platform of give away other peoples money, buy votes, bash gays, and abandon small business owners who actually made the economy what it was. Excellent platform and well executed if you are grading absolute failures.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
Cutting red tape? You clearly have not stepped foot in Poland to do any type of business. It takes a month to set up a SP ZO O in Poland if you are in the fast lane, in USA to set up and LLC or Inc takes 15 minutes. Get tax certification in Poland takes and actual physical visit to your office, in USA its done on line. Poland is the safe haven of red tape. Get your facts straight before you start spouting off. 500+ is not a benefit, it is a burden that somehow has to be paid by people who are actually paying into the system, and now that system has been decimated because PiS cant get the shield money to small business. When was the last time you were in Poland again? Just what I thought, probably never.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
No I am not salivating. I am laughing about how he will respond. It will be a topic that's a guarantee. EU already has USA on the list of three proposed banned countries, Russia and Brazil also included.

You cant go back and forth on accomplishments. Either the shield worked or it didnt. Clearly it didnt. Clearly the money went to big business who didnt need it nearly as much and to PiS cronies as well as PiS members themselves indirectly through family and friends.

If you had a clue about economics you wouldnt think about PiS. Where is it you live again? Exactly what I thought. Not in Poland.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
The economy was booming because of international trade, and as you said in a post earlier, in part because of USA companies generating a lot of cash. The shield is and was a joke, a record number of business have gone under, in the first 30 days alone more companies closed their doors than in the whole previous year. Stimulus bills? From what? EU money? Like all the infrastructure money spent employing thousands that would have come to Poland no matter who was in charge. Get a grip on yourself and use facts not PiS propaganda. Do you even live here? Maybe I should post pictures of all the defaced Duda signs around the country that I have seen?

I still wonder what he says to Trump about a potential travel ban on Americans. Any ideas how long it will take Duda to reply to a sentence in English? My guess is a six word sentence takes about 30 seconds. "PPPPPPP President TTTTTT Trump IIIIII ammmmm your SSSSSSS Servant" The fluent English speaker he likes to brag about himself being.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

I wonder what Duda says to Trump about the EU potentially banning people from USA traveling to Poland? Considering the story broke yesterday, and he is shaking hands with Trump today, I would be pretty sure the subject comes up. Probably around the same time Duda is begging for more American Military in Poland. Trump probably says its not a problem he will just pull all military from Poland. I wonder how this news plays to those who thought the Visa waiver program was actually an accomplishment of PiS, when it had nothing to do with them.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
You should be ashamed of yourself. This administration is a joke. A laughing stock that is an embarrassment to the country. Unified command? Of what the fag patrol? This is what PiS is worried about? Get a clue about what the real, intelligent people want from the country.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
Sorry to disappoint you, I will never join any "party". I am not one of the sheep who need to follow. I vote for who is qualified to do the best job for the most people regardless of party. Religion has no place in my decision making. If I felt Duda was qualified and could do a good job I would say so. The facts are already in on that though. Duda, JK and the PiS movement have done nothing. They are incompetent and have no idea how to move the country forward. If they win, the people in this country that vote for them will get what they deserve, more of nothing.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

If we take the number of older Poles who died since the last election, a majority of them presumed PiS supporters, and subtract them from PiS votes......Then add the 1997 to 2002 birth year first time presidential election voters to anyone but PiS.......I think this demographic profile is completely ignored in polling.

I think the demographic profile of those Poles who came home when the virus hit is also being ignored. Those who want a better economy and not more free money.

Maybe I am off the mark. I just don't see the support for Duda in the countryside that they are counting on. Young people are motivated and mobilized.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@delphiandomine
Anyone know how many Polish citizens would be able to vote for the first time in this election? This number could actually be the number that really matters. No way young people follow Duda or PiS.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@amiga500
PiS and Duda truly untrustworthy and despicable. Calling any opposition candidate a virus worse than Coronavirus? Really? What kind of dithering idiot says something like that? What kind of idiot comes out talking about unemployment numbers two days before the next set of unemployment numbers comes out? There's only one and he is the current guy in office.

What kind of President doesn't address the number of business closures? Or the declining ZUS collections because of it? Or the declining tax revenue because of people not working and companies closing up shop? Or that the "shield" money never got to small business and billions went to cronies? Or that people who own small business are still waiting for their 5000 pln for months after they applied for it and kept their business open?

There is one group Duda has no chance with and that is people with any level of intelligence.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

Duda talking about unemployment levels BEFORE the pandemic may have pooped the bed yesterday. Considering most experts already peg Poland's unemployment rate at about 8.5% before the actual second quarter numbers come out next month, he may end up looking very stupid right before the second round.

Calling the opposition a "virus" worse than coronavirus may have gotten him in trouble. Has definitely not sat well with others.

I have to say, the Trump approach to attack speech being used by Duda makes PiS look childish. It suits Trump simply because he has accomplished a lot and can get away with it because of that. But PiS and Duda come across as ignorant. Watching him on TV is kind of funny because he says nothing new, its all the same stuff all the time. His turnout in Krakow the other day, not so good, and probably wasted a day here.

But he will be in USA, which is one day there flying, one day on the ground and another day in the air heading back. Three days right before the first round out of the on the ground election cycle is not exactly a genius stroke of planning.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

I think PiS is making these promises because the feel it slipping away from them. The smaller communities are no longer the "stronghold" for PiS that they used to be. Otherwise, they wouldnt need to make these promises for new equipment. Then they alienate themselves further from people in larger cities. I also think PiS knows that the Poles they brought home during the beginning of the virus are not voting for them.

PiS and JK are many things, but they are not stupid political tacticians. This smells of desperation. The big and medium sized cities are clearly lost to them. I am simply baffled at why they haven't come up with one thing to try to generate some cross over votes. The same message over and over to the same audience. Nothing to get to the important segments of voters they have lost, like young professionals and business owners. Nothing that students would be interested in. If new blood is not flowing in a party the party eventually dies. It really is a puzzling strategy.

News / Presidential elections 2020 - your opinions about campaign, candidates [2223]

@Ironside
Actually there is a troop pullback from Germany that PiS and Duda asked to have transferred to Poland, Trump said no and brought them home. Duda is a pawn for JK and Trump will use him the same way. Any country wanting a puppet for a President is going to get what they deserve, nothing.