海角大神

Life in Poland is finally moving in the right direction, says 艁ukasz Dry偶a艂owski.

The Warsaw-based engineer-turned-filmmaker helped聽rally friends and strategize how and where to vote six months ago, in an election that saw 69% of Poles under 30 turn out to vote. That youth mobilization, which surpassed even Poland鈥檚 communism-toppling election of 1989, proved crucial to ousting the conservative Law and Justice Party.

During their eight years in office, Law and Justice raised social insurance payments which particularly impacted younger Poles like the 32-year-old Mr. Dry偶a艂owski, rolled back civil rights including access to abortion, quashed media and judiciary independence, angered the European Union, and oversaw skyrocketing costs, including apartment prices.

But now that Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his coalition are in office, even if it鈥檚 only been a few months, Mr. Dry偶a艂owski feels that a difference has been made.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like we will wake up tomorrow and everything will go back to some kind of normal,鈥� he says. The coalition 鈥渉asn鈥檛 done anything on abortion rights yet, and it鈥檚 been 200 days since election. It should have happened by now. But there is a guarantee that we will stay in the European Union. They鈥檝e stopped any kind of 鈥楶olexit鈥� signals.鈥�

But now that Law and Justice has been relegated to the opposition, the enthusiasm younger Poles carried leading up to the election now runs the risk of ebbing; Mr. Dry偶a艂owski himself has warned of 鈥渂urnout.鈥� Experts say that their engagement 鈥� or disengagement 鈥� comes at a critical time for Poland鈥檚 democracy, as it tries to rebound from the backsliding under Law and Justice鈥檚 tenure.

鈥淭hey voted and felt like 鈥業鈥檓 a good citizen,鈥� but you have to do more, to engage, not only in political parties but within nongovernmental organizations, and to be active on social media,鈥� says Adam K膮dziela, a political analyst.

A new era of civic participation?

Learning to live inside of a democracy takes education.

After the fall of communism in 1989, Poland began a peaceful building of a modern democratic system. But becoming an active participant in that system doesn鈥檛 happen overnight, says Dr. K膮dziela, author of the report, 鈥淭he Political Portrait of Young Poles 2023.鈥�

Participation needs to be taught in schools, woven into the social fabric, and propagated via civic institutions such as the media, says Dr. K膮dziela, and it was a slow, evolving process. 鈥淥ur parents鈥� generation lived under a communist regime, so we didn鈥檛 know how to build our democratic competencies,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檇 lost the current young generation between ages 18 and 38鈥� to apathy.

An inherent distrust of the state has been woven into Polish society over centuries of struggle against a monarchy or a centralized power. Then came the modern communist era, which perpetuated that feeling of 鈥渢he state as almost a sort of oppressive outside power,鈥� says Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer, a sociologist and assistant professor at Kozmi艅ski University.

鈥淪o you have this fascinating paradox in Poland of intuitive, actual civic practice which was unofficial鈥� because organizing was dangerous during the communist era, she says, 鈥渃oupled with a historic distrust of institutions. People trust other people, but not necessarily institutions.鈥�

That鈥檚 why October鈥檚 youth turnout is a possible indication of a new era of civic participation via government institutions. 鈥淐hange was the biggest motivation. Young people were frustrated,鈥� Dr. K膮dziela says, pointing to record levels of inflation felt more keenly by young working people.

As the election approached, Mr. Dry偶a艂owski made promotional films for a progressive party as a contractor and drove to a less-progressive district to cast his vote, calculating he鈥檇 have more impact there. 鈥淚 called my friends, we went to vote, and we did it,鈥� ousting Law and Justice, he says.

Micha艂 Kiedrzyn虂ski, a 21-year-old computer science student, voted for the first time in October. He鈥檇 been activated by worries about Poland鈥檚 direction. 鈥淧eople in my bubble were generally upset about all kinds of things,鈥� says Mr. Kiedrzyn虂ski.

These young people are part of a broader generational change, says Dr. Chmielewska-Szlajfer. 鈥淧oland is a very unique country in the sense that it鈥檚 dynamic, and in the way people understand and do democracy. We鈥檝e been doing a super fast-forward, making up for decades that we were behind the Iron Curtain.鈥�

Or a 鈥渙ne-time mobilization鈥�?

Yet Polish politics is less than inspiring for young people. For the past two decades the political scene has largely revolved around two men -聽Donald Tusk, now 66 as he starts his second stint as prime minister, and Jaros艂aw Kaczy艅ski, the Law and Justice leader who is now 74. The average member of parliament is in their 50鈥檚.

And that鈥檚 been anathema to young Poles. In most elections they鈥檝e been less engaged and hold less sway than graying Poles, say pollsters.

Klaus Bachmann, a historian at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, thinks the October vote was a聽鈥渙ne-time mobilization,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this means they really want to engage in politics. Politics is kind of repellent for young people, and they will wait to see what the new government is doing and if they like it.鈥�

Karolina Jakubczyk, a 22-year-old recruiter, exemplifies a strong sense of civic duty as well as the risk of ebbing enthusiasm. She wants a more modern and less old-fashioned Poland, and points out that an aging society should have more young people in charge.

Yet she doesn鈥檛 have the 鈥減atience鈥� to run for office herself. And, after an initial post-election spurt of interest in parliamentary proceedings on television, she ultimately tuned out. 鈥淭he politicians were comical; it wasn鈥檛 worth following anymore,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was turned off.鈥�

Mr. Dry偶a艂owski, the filmmaker, says he鈥檚 not necessarily more engaged either. 鈥淔or now, I got what I wanted, and now I have to wait and see where things go.鈥�

He wouldn鈥檛 mind some help with housing, which Mr. Tusk鈥檚 coalition hasn鈥檛 yet tackled. He and his girlfriend have been searching for a flat to buy for months, in a housing situation so dire that two thirds of young Poles live with or get financial help from their parents.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still looking.鈥�

Piotr 呕akowiecki contributed to this report.