An aggressive way of evaluating an opponent as an enemy will only strengthen the electorate – said psychologist and therapist Dr. Ewa Woydyłło-Osiatyńska in “Fakty po Faktach” on TVN24, commenting on the words of the deputy prime minister, PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński. She assessed that “people with democratic convictions will not be fooled.”
Deputy Prime Minister, President of PiS Jaroslaw Kaczynski in his speech at a military picnic in Uniejów (Łódź Voivodeship) said that “Tusk is the personification of evil in Poland. It is pure evil.”
“Tusk began to proclaim that his formation is a broad alliance starting with Andrzej Rozenek – Urban’s associate. According to Tusk, there are those who want to continue my brother’s work. Indeed, there is a group of traitors among those who collaborated with my brother at some point. “These are disgusting people who have betrayed everything. They are ready for anything for their careers. Some of them were associated with various infamous organizations, only once it was not known. Do not believe it,” said Deputy Prime Minister Kaczyński. And he added: “My brother’s tradition has nothing to do with this destroyer, who also cynically and cruelly destroyed him.”
Woydyłło-Osiatyńska: a hostile way of evaluating the opponent will strengthen the electorate
Psychologist and therapist Dr. Ewa Woydyłło-Osiatyńska was asked on Monday in “Fakty po Faktach” on TVN24 whether such phrases can be liked by someone in Poland and can be electorally effective.
“I’m afraid they can be effective because they appeal to emotions,” she said. She noted that “people whose knowledge is quite limited may not have the whole picture, they use one source of information.”
As she said, appealing to emotions “makes a person feel involved”. – As if (statement – ed.): I now have a sense of power, because I know what position to take, because when you have the opportunity to select facts, elections between one interpretation and another, when you are evaluating, it is a much longer and more difficult process and you need to have some practice and preparation for it, added Woydyłło-Osiatyńska.
“So I’m afraid it’s a very clever maneuver that gives you a straight line of thinking,” she said.
Ewa Woydyłło-Osiatyńska and Aleksander Smolar in “Fakty po Faktach”TVN24
When asked if hate in politics, in the election campaign is mobilizing and effective, the answer should also be hate, she said that “the way of attacking the opponent in this way is a great way to keep those who are with me”. “But democratic people won’t fall for that,” she said.
So in that sense, we have a great chance. We, i.e. people who want to improve something, change something, free ourselves from this dictatorship of hate, do not have to use this method at all, because it will not work on them – she added.
– On the other hand, that aggressive, hostile way of looking at or evaluating an opponent as an enemy, I am afraid, will only strengthen the electorate, which is dominated by this, I do not even know how to say it, because it is a certain category of people – she said. Woydyłło-Osiatyńska.
She noticed that women in Poland are better educated. She added that “more than 70 percent of university graduates are girls.” – So this electorate does not sign up for such hate, for such a campaign that disgusts people – she assessed.
Smolar: this is a kind of class war
Aleksander Smolar, former president of the Stefan Batory assessed that “here not only psychological considerations and emotions play a role”. – This is the case in all countries where populist movements either rule or play an important role. Here it must be said that this is a kind of class war between the people or part of the people and the elites, he said. – The revolt against the elites is a fairly widespread phenomenon in the world, both in Western countries and not only in Western countries – he added.
– Here, for example, this policy of so-called dignity, respect, which he led PIS among other things, through redistribution, not only material, but also the redistribution of respect, also favors this. This means that part of the people, let’s call it that, Marcin Matczak recently wrote focusing on the countryside, but this does not only apply to the countryside, it is easier to identify with activists, with leaders, even often with the language of PiS than with the left, and even more so than from the center, he said.
– Also here is a very important problem and dimension of the ongoing fight for the election result – he assessed.
Main photo source: PAP/Marian Zubrzycki