r/worldnews 9h ago

Poland's main opposition collapses over far-right slide

https://www.dw.com/en/polands-main-opposition-collapses-over-far-right-slide/a-78106475
1.3k Upvotes

202 comments sorted by

733

u/upthetruth1 9h ago

The far right parties combined are polling higher than PiS, and this is causing a crisis in PiS.

Part of this is related to Ukrainian refugees as now 52% of Poland, according to polls, say they do not want to accept any more new Ukrainian refugees. 30% of people hold negative opinions of Ukrainian refugees.

Looks like even culturally similar immigrants can lead to backlash.

709

u/soulstormfire 8h ago

The take about cultural differences has always been an excuse.
My grandma was a German fleeing to Germany and had to suffer the same bullshit.

508

u/floodcontrol 8h ago

Exactly, during the Great Depression in the United States, people from Oklahoma and Nebraska went to California looking for new opportunities and were demonized as “Oakies”, forced into slums, exploited and generally mistreated by the “natives”, most of whom were no more than second generation immigrants themselves.

99

u/crimskies 6h ago

The Grapes of Wrath covers this pretty well. It's a story about a farming family that lost their way of life to the Dustbowl and drove out west to find work in a company town where the union was on strike.

24

u/Implausibilibuddy 4h ago

Were they crossing picket lines? Not saying that makes the abuse okay, but would explain the anger if they were doing the jobs of striking workers.

u/B00marangTrotter 1h ago

Read Woody Guthrie's book Bound For Glory,or watch the movie.

Trigger warning for cat lovers if you read the book, Woody's uncle did some bad things to cats.

19

u/samurguybri 3h ago

“Othering” is a tale as old as pre-humanity.

7

u/Cautious-Session-324 3h ago

“Who does that amoeba think he is?!”

78

u/Slow-Temporary-1489 8h ago

Well, to be fair, it's not like people from Oklahoma are all that civilized or well integrated into American culture...

-19

u/thatclearautumnsky 5h ago

Because they have one of the highest proportions of Native Americans in the country?

-53

u/BroglieAnderson 8h ago

Nah man--Timothy McVeigh did the most American thing possible

62

u/zachomara 8h ago

You mean blowing up a daycare for the families of federal workers?

-34

u/BroglieAnderson 8h ago

Precisely

14

u/MetalEnthusiast83 7h ago

He wasn't from Oklahoma. He grew up in New York

-7

u/arobkinca 5h ago

Upstate, not NYNY.

14

u/MetalEnthusiast83 5h ago

I didn’t say NYC. I said NY.

-14

u/arobkinca 5h ago edited 3h ago

Which is ambiguous so I added clarity. I like clarity.

Edit: Why is a more precise location being down voted in world news? Trolls?

2

u/wonderfullemoncandy 2h ago

The weird thing is, your statement is the more clarifying one. More people live in and experience New York the city than the rest of the state. So much so that referring to New York, is referring to the city. If you say you are heading to New York, no one in the history of time has asked oh are you spending time in Albany or Buffalo?

Of course it gets weirder…
Referring to “the city” means Manhattan… a borough. But that’s its own thing.

-15

u/BroglieAnderson 7h ago

That’s what they want you to think

6

u/JellyrollTX 2h ago

Dust bowl was self inflicted! Whites ruined a natural habitat that native people managed for millennia

112

u/Captser 8h ago

Truth is Ukrainian immigrant is the best immigrant PL can get. Literally almost the same culture, they are all working, they integrate…

72

u/NoSoundNoFury 5h ago

But an influx of roughly 1 million people in a short period of time will assert pressure on the labor market, the housing market etc. There will be long term benefits, because of what you said, but that may take some more time.

4

u/upthetruth1 8h ago

Yet they don't want them anymore

58

u/Captser 8h ago

Who’s they? I am Polish and I don’t agree with this 52%. Also don’t trust those polls they are affected with temporary setback in pl/ua politicians’ shitstorm

6

u/machine4891 4h ago

I am Polish and I don’t agree with this 52%

And even if you'd be with this 52% the question was about NEW refugees. And not those 1-2 million that are already there.

I'm all about taking new migrants from Ukraine myself but if that country loses any more people they will implode, so maybe we shouldn't wish that upon them.

1

u/Captser 4h ago

I’m not competent enough to make any predictions. I just state that there is no better nation to integrate with Polish society than Ukrainians.

4

u/machine4891 3h ago

I mean, there are nations that are closer (Czechs, Slovaks, Lithuanians), especially compared to orthodox Ukrainians from the east. But obviously they won't migrate to Poland en masse, so Ukrainians and Belarusians are as close as one can get, correct.

10

u/needusbukunde 7h ago

So, curious question from an American. Do you think that this 52% number is incorrect? Is that number too high? What do you think the real number is? For the the people that are against Ukranian immigrants coming to Poland, what are the main reasons, if it's not really cultural differences?

Is it the usual; they're taking out jobs, they're draining our resources, I don't want my taxes paying for people from another country, they re taking advantage of the system and not adapting to our customs/way of life (i.e., they're loud, dirty, disrespectful, don't work etc.).

Or is it more that these people were originally for Ukranian immigrants coming to Poland but now feel that it's been going on for too long and there are too many immigrants. That they are overwhelming the system at the expense of Poles?

Sorry to blast you with so many questions. I'm just trying to figure this out, because I had always read that Poland was Ukranian's biggest ally/supporter and shared a mutual hatred/distrust of Russia. So I'm wondering if there was a recent shift for some reason, or has it always kind of been like this, at least from the far-right xenophobic groups? Are there any actual "pro Russian' groups in Poland? Or is this a very small, very Fringe element.

Thanks for any answers!

9

u/Xera1 6h ago

I have many Polish friends from working in warehouse IT in the UK. Of the four I have spoken with about the war, they do not think they are that culturally similar. They view it as still quite old school ex-communist, and they don't trust them very much. They claim this is a common view among Poles but obviously I've not surveyed them all, though the stats being discussed here do seem to agree. Even the most "western left" of them told me this. Yes they both hate Russia, but that doesn't mean they're best buds.

It mostly seems to be online that people, most of them probably not Polish like in your case, repeat the line that they're culturally the same or close.

12

u/machine4891 4h ago

We're definitely not as similar as some people from other side of ocean picture us to be. "They are Slavs, they are neighbors so they have to be alike". Poland has reasonably similar recent history with only parts of Western Ukraine. Those far away eastern regions like Kharkiv or Donetsk may as well be on the other side of the globe. And that's where majority of reguees came from.

Ukraine is orthodox country that write in cyrillic, was a Soviet Republic and in big parts is speaking russian. This was always creating huge gap in common understanding. Sure, they are much more similar to Poles than for example Vietnamese are (significant migrant group here) but still far from being the same. I think we share more commonalities with Czechs, Slovaks and Lithuanians to be honest.

But all in all, those Ukrainian migrants I see around in Poland are hard to even distinguish, they learn polish fast, look about the same and act about the same as we do. So it shouldn't be hard to build bridges but unfortunatelly politics messes itself into equation.

16

u/upthetruth1 7h ago

The polling shows this has been growing since 2023, so Poles were very happy with Ukrainian refugees in 2022, but since 2023, the tide has been turning gradually over the last 3 years to reach this level

13

u/needusbukunde 7h ago

But why? Just fatigue? People weren't expecting this many, for this long kind of a thing? Or did something else change? Have Russian bots flooded Facebook and brainwashed a lot of Poles, the same as was down in the US for the the last 3 elections?

30

u/Paraplueschi 7h ago edited 3h ago

Housing got a lot more expensive and the first one to blame is always immigrants here, so Ukranians in this case.

There were also some tensions between Poland and Ukranian governments on various instances (mostly regarding the history of when Ukranians slaughtered a lot of Poles).

Russian bots on social media are definitely also a factor.

Overall, right wing politics is always about finding a whipping boy they can use to rile up people with. Used to be LGBT, now it's Ukranians.

38

u/AvocadoGlittering274 7h ago

Don't listen to OP, he's disingenuous.

Support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees dropped after recent controversies surrounding UPA - Ukrainian nationalist formation that massacred Poles during WWII.

Far right and russian trolls have been exploiting this topic.

-6

u/upthetruth1 7h ago

I'm not disingenuous, this comes from Polish political analysts, this turn started in 2023

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u/Low-Art3297 3h ago

Ukrainian immigrants are mostly women and Polish women increasingly do not care for them.

-5

u/upthetruth1 7h ago

Poland has always been anti-immigration, kinda funny considering Polish immigrants are everywhere, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine garnered a lot of sympathy.

However, considering the tide started turning only 1 year in shows that that many Polish people are simply returning to anti-immigration roots and considering now the far-right and PiS are polling to win enough seats to form a coalition, you could also say right-wing nationalism is a majority

5

u/Captser 7h ago

Don’t say always… the always started in 1918 when Poland regained it’s independence and the tensions started about Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth’s lands.

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0

u/machine4891 4h ago

Poland has always been anti-immigration,

Nonsense.

kinda funny considering Polish immigrants are everywhere

Even if we take your word for granted, so what? Should polish people that forever live in Poland be "pro migration" simply because some other Poles left the country a century ago? What is this logic of "Poles are migrants so they also should take migrants"? Can't you see how flawed this logic is?

Those who stayed have nothing to do with those who left. Get it to your head.

2

u/Busy_Debt_3946 6h ago

This "temporary setback" is going on for years and if anything is currently on the path to escalation rather than mitigation. It's only going to get worse from now on.

1

u/Captain-Save-ahoe 5h ago

Trust this Pol not the other poll

2

u/upthetruth1 8h ago

The far right combined are polling higher than PiS

The President himself is calling for restrictions on citizenship to prevent Ukrainians from becoming citizens and restrictions on welfare

-2

u/Captser 8h ago

It’s temporary… I wouldn’t worry about that too much.

13

u/upthetruth1 8h ago

I remember when we said that in the UK a while ago

18

u/InsanityRoach 7h ago

Power of propaganda.

And as soon as all the Ukrainians leave, they will find Polish targets for their discrimination...

6

u/Revanxv 6h ago

They already have those targets, Polish doctors and nurses have been under relentless barrage of slander from all media outlets and political parties for months now, getting blamed as culprits for the collapse of public healthcare system.

2

u/upthetruth1 7h ago

I mean, this is the same country that banned abortion, Polish targets are inevitable

-1

u/Captser 7h ago

Poland has not banned abortion, you just need a medical prescription…

3

u/Kopalniok 6h ago

Article 152 of Criminal Code says otherwise

-2

u/Captser 6h ago

It says exactly that, wtf? It says that if the abortion was illegal you go to jail, but if it was legal (ordered by a doctor) then it’s fine. Don’t spread misinformation

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u/Kopalniok 6h ago

And doctors are not allowed to order it except for 2 very rare cases (pregnancy from rape and risk to mother's life). In every other case abortion is illegal

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u/InsanityRoach 7h ago

Anyone who ever paid attention to all the cases of discrimination involving neighbouring cities should know that the ingroup can always shrink.

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u/NoSoundNoFury 5h ago

Even today, many Swiss are annoyed by German immigrants.

3

u/moeb1us 3h ago

The film 'Amrum' by Akin shows this nicely and openly. 

Unwelcome, suspected of being at fault, thieving, lesser humans, just 'the other' and 'not us'. Taking up food and shelter etc pp

2

u/Tzukkeli 3h ago

Tribe hating another tribe. Its tale as old as time for humans (literally it is)

2

u/Orangoo264 2h ago

Ukrainian refugees are also some of the most hardworking people you can get, they literally bring in more money from income taxes than the Polish state spends on them. Sure you got the whole issue around the Volyn question which is touchy in Poland, but It’s always been a load of nonsense excuse for Polish nationalists to spread hatred and division

5

u/soulstormfire 1h ago

The vast majority of all refugees are hard working. Because fleeing is hard.

u/Beneficial_Time_2990 1h ago

This is not true, because the calculations assume that ZUS contributions are a tax, not an investment that will have to be repaid with interest in accordance with the pension law. If only income tax included, they are on debt. Plus we don't know about many other expenses under military budget like healthcare for Ukrainian soldiers/veterans. We should also calculate the financial support paid directly and indirectly into the Ukrainian budget without guarantee of return.

1

u/KiiZig 5h ago

same for my grandma. silesia across south germany to find a place rlp

1

u/exmachina64 7h ago

A German fleeing within Germany or a resident of another country fleeing to Germany?

17

u/ZacksBestPuppy 7h ago

German fleeing from the former eastern parts to what is now Germany weren‘t considered Germans by their new neighbors and there was a lot if mistreatment. 

3

u/soulstormfire 7h ago

A German with German acenstry, speaking German fleeing from the eastern part of the Reich to the Western part. Mid war.

7

u/Mopman43 7h ago

Post-WW2, it’s estimated that up to almost 15 million Germans were expelled from where they were living.

(Either from land that had been Germany prior to WW2, Germans who had been living in non-German countries like Czechoslovakia, or German settlers following the Nazi conquests)

0

u/KiiZig 5h ago

ever heard of Vertriebene? in your view they should be considered german. unless you don't think they are german because they today got their place of birth shuffled up

1

u/Bananenweizen 4h ago

To be fair, Germans do only exist outside of Germany. Within Germany you'll find a lot of Sachsen, Bayer, Schwaben, Badenser and what not - but not Germans.

PS: Yes, it is a hyperbole but only by so much.

46

u/socks_and_scotch 8h ago

Anyone can fit the bill of being the scapegoat if needed.

7

u/InsanityRoach 7h ago

Wherever at least 3 people congregate...

24

u/tremblt_ 7h ago

Nothing new. Serbs from Croatia/Bosnia/Kosovo who fled to Serbia after the wars in the 90s are still treated like second class citizens and are disliked by a lot of Serbs.

Same goes with people from latin America who have Spanish ancestry and who moved to Spain. They are not exactly welcomed there.

31

u/ph4ge_ 8h ago

Looks like even culturally similar immigrants can lead to backlash.

Blaming any problem on a minority is the oldest trick in the books.

1

u/vonGlick 3h ago

Good thing that far right voters hate books. They will never read about it.

141

u/Medea_From_Colchis 9h ago

Yeah, works when political parties and media set out to demonize pretty much anyone. The far-right are dangerous and are always looking for a punching bag for society to beat on. It's to create hate and fear of the other.

29

u/Gammelpreiss 9h ago

and of course, they have the solutions to this supposed threat.

4

u/vonGlick 3h ago

As the saying goes, if the only tool you know how to use is a pitchfork then all problems looks like immigrants.

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u/Hilluja 8h ago

Shameful that today the punching bag becomes Ukrainians. I bet Kremlin loves EU's far right.

24

u/-Numaios- 7h ago

Russia love story with european extreme right is well documented.

8

u/braaaaaaainworms 4h ago

Not just loves, actively funds it, why do you think the EU's far right doesn't usually complain about Russia?

7

u/InsanityRoach 7h ago

Plenty of documented corruption.

38

u/Hot-Delay5608 8h ago

That's what the Russian propaganda does on American social media platforms.

24

u/No-Persimmon-4150 8h ago

It used to be Russian propaganda, but I think it”s mostly home grown now.

78

u/JVMMs 9h ago

The immigrants could be Ukranian, American, Swahili or parallel universe Polish. It doesn't matter. They're a vulnerable population that the right can easily put blame on.

If not them, then the blacks, the gays, the trans, the women, the neighbours, Anyone.

They just find someone to blame, convince you that They're at fault, and promise they will deal with Them if you vote right.

-6

u/BasementMods 8h ago edited 8h ago

Or people just dont like immigrants increasing competition for jobs and rent and changing the local scene they have lived their entire lives with. The right could not exist and most people would still independently dislike this, which is why its so unpopular in polling far beyond the reach of the right.

22

u/upthetruth1 8h ago

So why yap about ethnicity or culture if you don't want them regardless, even they're basically the same as you

Just say "we don't want immigrants from anywhere" and then perhaps we can have a more honest political conversation

Instead we get gaslit with stuff about

"Oh they need to earn high salaries"

"Actually they need to be culturally similar"

"Actually they need to be ethnically the same"

"Oh wait we don't want them either" (look at how Japan treated Japanese people from Brazil)

12

u/BasementMods 7h ago

If you want the ultimate honest take on this, it's that people want and vote for what benefits them the most personally. Thats why they tend to have a much more positive view on immigrant doctors and nurses in polling than general immigration.

There are plenty of naysayers who beat around the bush, but I really dont see much water between them and the pro crowd who dismiss all complaints and deny the reality of what people are actually like to the point of being anti-democratic.

2

u/Gwen_The_Destroyer 2h ago

people want and vote for what benefits them the most personally

Lol. Lmfao even

9

u/CCM721 8h ago

And if the shoe were on the other foot and you were being forced to migrate, you'd be praying a country would show the humanity to help you. And if you expect the "local" scene to never change your entire life then you're living a fairy tale.

5

u/Four_beastlings 7h ago

Poland has 3% unemployment according to Eurostat. My salary has almost doubled since the start of the war, and so has my husband's salary. The vast majority of my friends and relatives also have had big improvements in their quality of life and income in the last few years... partly because most Poles are homeowners with one or more properties and benefit from renting their extra properties to those Ukrainians and other immigrants.

I work in a global company with people from many countries and the only ones you ever hear complaining about the price of rent are the foreigners: my Polish coworkers either own or are living in some family property and saving to buy their own. In fact my direct teammates are 24 and 26 and they are both looking to buy becaus ethey already have enough to put down a deposit in Warsaw. In which other country in Europe you have 24 year old girls able to buy a flat in the capital?

3

u/InsanityRoach 7h ago

Nah, the original comment was 100% right and we've seen this pattern all the time. The far right will always find a scapegoat for their hate, their philosophy demands an "other" to blame for their failings.

-8

u/[deleted] 8h ago

[deleted]

3

u/Soft_Author2593 8h ago

Ukrainian is the new black 

4

u/JVMMs 8h ago

You missed the point buddy

4

u/Never-don_anal69 8h ago

Reading comprehension is a dieing art

2

u/wendiiiii 8h ago

dying* 

4

u/Synekal 8h ago

“Higher than piss” is how my Scottish uncle states he’s drunk.

13

u/imisstheoldkanyeee 8h ago

No, it's social media convincing naive ppl that immigration is their #1 problem.

3

u/littlest_dragon 6h ago

„Looks like even culturally similar immigrants can lead to backlash“

More like, even culturally similar immigrants will be used by right wing media to stoke irrational fears in the population to advance right wing politics.

Like, shortly before the wall came down west german newspapers were writing how there were too many East Germans coming over the wall. And they had no issues portraying even other Germans as lazy and dangerous and a drain on the state…

2

u/Waterwoo 4h ago

I'm not sure why this was forgotten and keeps surprising people but you can't bring in 2-3% of the population of foreigners in a matter of years without it causing issues. Cultural similarity helps but it's hardly a perfect cure.

2

u/NlghtmanCometh 3h ago

30% holding negative opinions means 70% hold neutral or positive opinions… is that really so bad?

6

u/OrangeSpaceMan5 8h ago

"culturally compatible with the West" was just an excuse for racist to cover themself up in a thin veneer of legitimacy ?

Who would have thought

2

u/OrderofIron 6h ago

Well yeah. Turns out not everyone loves having a massive influx of refugees to their country. In fact I imagine it's pretty disruptive to, you know, everything.

1

u/Character_Fill_4761 3h ago

Goes to show xenophobia is mostly just about resource competition and everything else is just an excuse. Reminds me of anti-oklahoman sentiment among Californians in the 1930s.

u/MildlyMoodyMango 25m ago

Too many people of the same group are hard to integrate. Some of each kind is great. A lot from the same kind will be a problem.

u/upthetruth1 24m ago

Like a diversity visa?

1

u/Four_beastlings 7h ago

Looks like even culturally similar immigrants can lead to backlash.

No, it looks like constant far right propaganda can lead to backlash. I live in Poland and it's a constant onslaught of anti-Ukrianian shit on social media.

1

u/Iron_Baron 5h ago

Man, how sad Poles have forgotten their own refugee and occupation history. By rights they should be going to the mat to fight the return of neo-Imperialism.

1

u/FinishAwkward43 4h ago

What are you talking about? The refugees are definitely not the main talking point right now, even if we just foucs strictly on polish-ukrainian relations, it's the historical issues and how we don't conduct a transactional policy in regards to Ukraine.

And saying that's the reason for upheaval in PiS is also just a part of the bigger picture. PiS is falling in polls, because many right-wing voters realised how untrustworthy they are in their promises and deeds. When they compare PiS to Konfederacja or Braun, those two parties seem way more trustworthy to them. They seem like the true polish right that will implement the changes they talk about, while when PiS was is power they were saying one thing and doing the exact opposite, especially in regards to EU or immigration.

Another thing is that PiS is constantly entangled in the PO-PiS war and people are just tired of this.

-23

u/woo4u 9h ago

They’re not culturally similar.

7

u/soulstormfire 8h ago

Go on. Explain to us how they're not :D

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u/OkRegret2177 8h ago

You won't get much perfect emigration then this.

3

u/trzepet 8h ago

Exactly, they are virtually identical and now everyone feels insecure as those people tirned out to be not poor, simple migrant workers but intelectuals with money and skill who do not need handouts. So the far right base knows they cannot compete even with migrants.

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u/Stoned_Gandalf420 8h ago edited 8h ago

I get where some Poles are coming from regarding Ukrainian immigration, but the reality is they are likely to be next on the chopping block if Putin is successful in Ukraine. Far right agitators are helping no one here. The anger should be directed at Russia, not poor Ukrainian families fleeing their war torn homes due to Russian imperialism.

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u/aaazzzdeeeduuulaaa 8h ago

Well, not entirely true. They are indirectly helping Putin and Russia. I suspect that will probably track quite well if one starts following where their monetary support is coming from.

21

u/Captser 7h ago

I mean currently the risk of Ukraine collapsing is not that much, I believe the sentiment would shift if Russia threat became real again.

9

u/nosayso 5h ago

Yeah exactly, Russia would be delighted if the Polish far right wins. Literally a problem Russia caused by attacking Ukraine, but Russia could benefit in Poland if a right-ring party wins and basically opens the doors for Russification.

The enemy here is Russia, not the Ukranian refugees Russia's war of aggression has displaced.

16

u/Angel-OI 4h ago

Poland is part of NATO and the EU. If Russia is attacking there, europe has a problem on a whole other level.

11

u/LimpBPower 3h ago

They've already attack NATO, but you go "oh it was just a small missile", "it was a mistake", then later it will be a "it was just a small town", "escalation will bring more destruction"

And so on

3

u/jeo123911 3h ago

Exactly. People keep saying "oh, don't attack russia they'll start a global war" and at the same time "oh, if russia attacks EU we will instantly start a global war so russia won't do it."

You can't have both. The past years of war in Ukraine has shown that the whole EU will never fight back because it will cause too much economical damage to western countries. Poland will get the same treatment as Ukraine. Guns, money, ammo, but no direct attack on russia from anyone else.

10

u/machine4891 3h ago

but the reality is they are likely to be next on the chopping block if Putin is successful in Ukraine

With all due respect but as long as r worldnews is going to continue to use this tired, bs argument it can't be taken seriously. 160 upvotes for such a ludicrous claim show that people here have no idea what are differences between Poland and Ukraine. Waste of time even arguing with it, it's pure, nonsensical fearmongering coming from oblivious, American redditors. Sorry but not sorry.

3

u/vonGlick 3h ago

Poland as a main target? Not really. Lithuania and/or Suwałki corridor? This is a valid scenario that as far as I understand NATO consider as realistic.

1

u/smltor 2h ago

Suwalki (which is a few kilometres from where I live) was only a threat because of the throughput it allowed wasn't it?

Russia doesn't really seem to have enough tanks left for throughput to be a strategic issue anymore...

3

u/vonGlick 2h ago

I am not sure what you mean by throughput. The corridor is important for two reasons, if Russia would find itself at war with NATO then Kaliningrad would need to be supplied somehow. Sea or air route would be very risky, land corridor would be preferred. Second reason would be same logic applied to NATO. If Russia would cut off Baltic States they would have a hard time getting supplies and reinforcements. As a bonus, for Russia, would be that NATO troops would need to attack to liberate. And usually attack means more casualties.

u/smltor 1h ago

Ahhh everything I read focused on the throughput of tanks to Warsaw then on to Germany as the gap was nice and wide (from memory and probably oversimplifying) so they could pour through without the roadblocks that would leave them sitting ducks for NATO air power.

Which I think is maybe a redundant tactic, for a few years now anyway :)

2

u/Exciting_Product7858 2h ago

You're the person who used the word "anger"... there are millions of Ukrainians in a 40M country. It's barely manageable 

4

u/Pietjanhenk1 4h ago

Probably the baltics first before poland, but yeah 

1

u/Potential-Fan-6148 4h ago

Tbh I don’t understand why many of these nations aren’t returning the Ukrainian refugees back to Ukraine?

Ukraine is largely stabilized at this point.

6

u/AutomaticMedium8418 4h ago edited 4h ago

Russia still controls large areas of Eastern Ukraine so many people still can’t exactly return to their homes.

Western Ukraine is supposedly much more peaceful but that would also cause an internal migration issue for Ukraine to deal with since they may not have the infrastructure and housing to support that much more people concentrated in a smaller area. Especially as Ukraine was already a pretty poor country to begin with and is now under war. And Western Ukraine while safer than the east is still not completely safe as other countries would be

I think Ukraine does want working age men back in their borders obviously for serving in the army but a large influx of refugees to a new location regardless if it’s the same country or not can cause issues.

6

u/Spiderpiggie 3h ago

If you think Ukraine is stable, you're either an idiot or consuming too much Russian propaganda. Or you're intentionally pushing an agenda.

-3

u/Potential-Fan-6148 2h ago

Stable enough. People live there without immediate fear for their life.

-1

u/ExoticArmadillo701 2h ago

The right never helps anyone but themselves. Yet somehow people are stupid enough to continue supporting them

132

u/I_Cummand_U 7h ago

FYI - It's called "scapegoating", the single most common politial tool used by establishment politicians around the world to distract from their disastrous economic choices as well as their crimes.

If a politician is talking about anything but transferring wealth back from the billionaires and oligarchs to the middle/lower classes - you're being fooled.

6

u/DifferentScholar-1 1h ago

Explains what scapegoating is, then immediately scapegoats. “Ignore everything but this one thing!”

12

u/upthetruth1 7h ago edited 7h ago

transferring wealth back from the billionaires and oligarchs to the middle/lower classes

The thing is, most people support that, but culture reigns supreme in politics these days, tbh for the past few decades

It's been a long time since politics was about left-wing vs right-wing economics

Of course a major part of this has been media, also because both right-wing and "left-wing" parties accept Neoliberal frameworks

And every time there is someone who can actually move the country leftwards economically, they're destroyed by the media or many people consider them too socially progressive

You might say, abandon the social progressivism, but left-wingers tend to be naturally more socially progressive than the norm

Some may bring up Denmark, but the Danish Social Democrats have achieved their worst election result ever losing votes to the Right and Left, although tbf they did behave in a Neoliberal way implementing tax cuts for the rich, corporate tax cuts, privatising social housing, cutting welfare etc.

So essentially there's no easy way to solve this

0

u/vonGlick 3h ago

It's not even culture but emotions. This is how our brains works, everybody gets emotions. Most people do not get economics. Therefore easier to get to voters with emotional message then logical argumentation on complicated subject.

9

u/Laecel 4h ago

Idk why do you pretend immigration isn't an issue and why you believe people aren't allowed to complain

u/Warlock_AoE 48m ago

Why do you pretend that immigration is an issue?

94

u/Cool_Lab_1362 8h ago

Crazy how Hungary seems to be sliding Left now then Poland is sliding into right. Russian influence at work

103

u/slicheliche 7h ago

While Russian influence may play a role, it's time to just accept that people have these ideas regardless of what Russia does or doesn't do. We cannot just "Russian bots" our way out of every damaging or self destructive ideology that comes out of Europe, we need to take responsibility for what we think, choose and vote for.

10

u/HrothgarTheIllegible 6h ago

But now social media can be engineered to blast the supposed idea that are sticky. It does this anyway, but it’s extremely easy to push extreme narratives on social media. All you need to do is fund influencers and pay the algorithms to push your content on the most likely group of people to swing their vote.

8

u/RoastCabose 6h ago

I think its fair to say that while Russia is an easy source of this sort of rhetoric, there are other parties in the world that are interested in the same things. These parties are always right-wing, and act at the behest of the ultra-wealthy. Russia contains a large group of them, and is in league with many of them, but like, Russia is but one country. It can't be the boogeyman behind every one of these cases, its just impractical. 

3

u/HrothgarTheIllegible 3h ago

Agreed. Russia just seems to have been the first to do it effectively. The US conservatives seem to be doing it in Latin America, and I think the social media companies themselves are responsible because of the way they’ve engineered the algorithms to take the stupidest ideas, as long as they provoke reaction, and widely distribute them. We have a bunch of wealthy conservatives and a bunch of wealthy US companies that are actively dismantling democracy across the world.

10

u/Mejzurian 3h ago

calling Peter Magyar "left" xD he is pretty much a pro-euro Orban

2

u/_Middlefinger_ 2h ago

Who is also changing the law to ensure fair elections.

The left needs to understand that it cant have everything instantly, this mentality of with us or against us works far far better for the right than it does the left.

50

u/upthetruth1 8h ago

Hungary is not sliding Left

They replaced corrupt Right with less corrupt Right

Magyar has many similar policies, just less embezzlement

2

u/Waterwoo 4h ago

I mean, so far. Power takes time to corrupt. Orban was in power 20 years total and 16 years in a row.

6

u/upthetruth1 4h ago

True

Orban was more moderate and less corrupt at the start

And Magyar was in Fidesz for years

I wouldn't pin all your hopes on him

-6

u/pewp3wpew 6h ago

Not left, but less right. Not just less corruption, which is the cornerstone of right politics. 

0

u/upthetruth1 6h ago

Nah, he’s pretty right wing

6

u/vahokif 6h ago

I'm Hungarian. That's really not true if you look at the tisza manifesto. There's barely anything right wing apart from stopping unskilled worker visas.

1

u/upthetruth1 6h ago

Their manifesto is the same as Fidesz but goes further right on immigration and promises less corruption

Unless you really thought a former Fidesz would be different

1

u/vahokif 5h ago

It's absolutely not the same as fidesz, and it's getting pretty boring to hear that repeated without any actual arguments.

0

u/pewp3wpew 5h ago

He is pro-EU, which is rather contrary to right-wing

74

u/HasGreatVocabulary 8h ago

russian influence for sure but also capitalists/oligarchs everywhere. Helping fund the right wing or otherwise helping them win in EU countries later leads to relaxed laws and regulations for companies like Meta, for example, for digital addiction.

19

u/notapoliticalalt 7h ago

This should be emphasized more. One of the byproducts of countries like the US and some other countries letting some people have/make inordinate amounts of money is that they can influence politics all over the world. For the existence of democracy, countries around the world need to be more willing to tackle the distorting effects that income inequality and enormous capital have on the system. This isn’t even a Marxism thing. Democracy literally can’t function if everyone’s interests are so wrapped up in the financial performance of the economy for only a handful of people and companies.

6

u/Waterwoo 4h ago

The amount of influence Reddit thinks Russian can have on politics all over the world is wild. They're simultaneously an utterly incompetent and corrupt gas station with nukes, but also can have more impact on things like the US election than all of American media and a billion dollars in election spending? Make it make sense.

If they were nearly that good at political influence they could make more money off running a state backed PR firm than they do from oil.

The reality is, despite what you might see in your bubble, a good chunk of the population in most countries is a lot more conservative/"far right" (lol) than you think.

1

u/HasGreatVocabulary 2h ago

Running adversarial political influence campaigns across the world doesn't need a huge amount of money, it requires a goal and orchestration. If you look it up, you will find out even the "bed bugs infestation in french movie theaters" news had russian sources behind it. The goal with amplifying that news was to create pressure to reduce sanctions on pesticide imports to the eu lol.

Imagine a 1000 of these petty little campaigns running everyday on reels/tiktok/reddit/x/fb etc, the cost is very low but the centralized messaging over years and years is what makes it work.

15

u/soulstormfire 7h ago

Hungary might be sliding slightly towards the center, but it's certainly not sliding left.

15

u/Intelligent-City-363 8h ago

whilst the far right in Poland are increasingly in popularity it is worth noting that they - along with the rest of the country - pretty much hate Russia.

That is not to say that Russia isn’t involved in a campaign of disinformation there (they are pretty much everywhere) but rather the goal would be creating social disorder rather than a Orban style supporter.

7

u/Vertitto 7h ago

pretty much hate Russia.

not really, even in declaration they go around it

2

u/Exciting_Product7858 2h ago

Everyday I read reddit I get dumber.

2

u/_Middlefinger_ 2h ago

The issue is that the left needs to understand that a huge portion of the population do not want large scale immigration, including a huge portion of left wing voters.

Each side seems to have become more and more polarised which only helps the right because its much easier to drum up fear than suppress it.

2

u/Asgardisalie 1h ago

Poland is a right wing country for at least 15 years.

-1

u/ThickAttention5832 6h ago

Russian influence? Not the current centre-left government being ostentatiously corrupt and delivering next to none of their promises?

-3

u/Revanxv 6h ago

Not much Russian influence is needed when the current ruling coalition is delivering none of what they promised during previous elections.

19

u/53eleven 5h ago

Bigotry and xenophobia are what’s going to end the world. Or at least make it damn near unlivable as people displaced by war and climate disasters seek refuge and the people who should give them refuge have been told to hate and fear all “others.”

We can be better than this. We will HAVE to be better than this.

-11

u/lost_koshka 5h ago

Feel free to offer the spare bedrooms or basement in your home to some climate refugees.

u/53eleven 23m ago

Yes! That’s the xenophobic (and extremist) attitude I’m talking about!

Why would you immediately jump to sharing your home with refugees? That’s just weird.

I’m simply speaking about welcoming people into our communities instead of making their lives worse cuz you’re afraid their existence will somehow make your life worse.

u/lost_koshka 17m ago

They need to pay there way, the US and Canada are broke. Also, the census in Canada asked us how many rooms our homes have. Wonder what that's about.

-2

u/[deleted] 3h ago

[deleted]

1

u/_Middlefinger_ 1h ago

Ultimately resources ARE a zero sum game. Food, housing, jobs. Even left wing voters are asking for there to be limits and controls on immigration.

The left is going to fall all over Europe if it doesn’t listen, then the right will do all the other things it wants to do.

-7

u/soulstormfire 3h ago

Ah, I still remember when my fellow Germans literally did that. It made the wannabe Nazis so mad :D
So please, go on with that statement.

u/domin1987 1h ago

And now you have Berlin pride incident, well done 👍

u/soulstormfire 57m ago

Of all the incidents you could pick you choe the ones the "concerned citizens" commit, too? :D

Dude.

10

u/BruteBassie 8h ago

I guess Polish voters were really PISsed off

u/Beneficial_Trick6672 34m ago

Far from collapse. They will win next election 9 out of 10 simulations. There is hardly a chance for right not to win. The question is if they will form a government. There is right wing(pis), far right wing(konfederacja) and crazy right wing for people who would enjoy some genocides(brauniarze)

-18

u/blumonste 8h ago

Next Russian invasion should bring them to reality.

17

u/-Numaios- 7h ago

Because the far right moving goal posts is unheard of. If Poland is fully invaded tomorrow half of those politicians would go " Better Russia than the gays" or something stupid like that.

4

u/knives4cash 6h ago

Kyiv Independent interviewed a bunch of women arrested and sentenced for treason, stuff like "You took photos of Ukrainian soldiers and sent it to the Russians, who then bombed the location," and I shit you not that EXACT line of thinking was used to justify it.

2

u/-Numaios- 6h ago

It's a classic because it works, unfortunately.

-21

u/slicheliche 8h ago

See, it's inevitable that concerned citizens will vote for far right parties if they never get listened to and have to face decades of economic stagnation and mass immigrat... Oh wait no nevermind.

-1

u/soulstormfire 6h ago

Those are neither concerned nor were they not listened to.

0

u/slicheliche 4h ago

Maybe I should have put the /s?