Power in the vertical or horizontal?

'The Power Vertical' is the title of a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty blog about Russia, but the title can apply to any country where power is concentrated in the hands of one person; Castro, Kim Jong Un, Lukashenko, Assad, Mugabe, Maduro  - and those who are trying to achieve this end - the likes of Erdogan, Orban, and yes, Kaczynski.

Suweren, 'the sovereign'. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the largest party in the Polish parliament, though neither the elected head of state nor prime minister, is bent on building a state that channels all power through his trusted people up to him. No room then for distributed, bottom-up networked decision making, no room for people at grassroots level with a different world-view competing for control of the levers of influence.

The state-owned media has been put into the hands of loyalists who've turned it into a shameless propaganda. I don't watch TVP any more - it's party media. Now, using regulatory mechanisms, PiS is setting out to reduce private media outlets' ad revenues and hence influence.

The new trend in Polish politics in recent months is to start questioning the reason for existence of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), starting from healthcare charity WOŚP, through to attacks on environmental groups.

Ahead of 2018's local elections, the organs of state are trying to discredit popular local leaders who are not from PiS, an example being Hanna Zdanowska in Łódź. She borrowed money to treat her sick child, made some mistake on the application form, repaid the loan, and is now facing investigation from the CBŚ despite the fact the bank from which she borrowed the money has not even raised this as an issue.

The education system is likewise being adjusted to the needs of Mr Kaczyński; more history (of the right sort), less stuff like science and dodgy things like evolution. The liberal wing of the Catholic Church in Poland has far less influence than the Radio Maryja end of the spectrum, broadcasting intolerance from Toruń, which tends to sees eye-to-eye with Mr Kaczyński.

Mr Kaczyński is intent on snuffing out alternative sources of power to his, just as the communist party was, creating a monopoly that did not countenance non-party initiatives. Communism deprived people of democracy via the ballot box and also of free association and freedom of speech.

Looking at the state of Polish NGOs, there's much that could be improved. Governance and transparency. Compared to British NGOs, which are generally well-run and have traditions going back decades in many cases, Polish NGOs are still in their infancy. They mean well but could do with being more professional. This does not mean they should be closed down; on the contrary, they should be allowed to grow their memberships, focus on effective fundraising and communicating with people at ground level.

The more people can get together to help one another, the less they have to reach out to the state to help them, the less influence the state has over us, the less important it is when the state is won by a person inimical to democracy.

The populist cry 'down with the elites' takes on an interesting meaning when one pauses to consider what a member of the elite actually is. According to Polish sociologist Jerzy Stelmach, it's a person whose livelihood is not in the least bit linked to whoever holds political power. All the placemen in Polish government agencies and state-owned enterprises are not, by this definition, members of the elite. They are here today, gone after the next election. They cling on to their cushy jobs by dint of their political loyalty within the power vertical, knowing that their office with two assistants, their chauffeur-driven car, is entirely dependent on PiS winning the next parliamentary election.

This makes me a member of the elite. I'm old enough and successful enough (and lucky enough) not to be financially dependent on the ebb and flow of Polish politics. This makes me independent, and, being ideologically opposed to power verticals of left or right, I'm therefore suspect in the eyes of those who support Kaczyzm.

To those who support PiS, I'd say this. There were plenty of imperfections with the PO government, especially towards the end, when complacency and laziness set in. But were things in Poland really so bad that the baby had to go with the bathwater? Was Polska really w ruinie? Was the situation in the autumn of 2015 so bad that democracy (albeit fledgling and imperfect) had to be replaced by a one-man party bent on creating a one-party state?

Power in the hands of one man? NO THANKS.

This time four years ago:
And still they come [anomalous flashbacks that is]

This time five years ago:
Classic glass

This time six years agor:
What's the Polish for 'pattern'?

This time nine years ago:
"Rorate caeli de super nubes pluant justum..."

Design, Build, Finance, Maintain, Operate

Looking at the state of Polish public infrastructure, one can often witness the result of short term thinking when it comes to procurement. "Buy the cheapest to avoid accusations of bribery" has been the mantra of procuring parties over the past decade. The cheapest advisors, the cheapest architects, the cheapest consulting engineers, the cheapest general contractors - these usually lead to massive bills for years to come as poor planning and shoddy workmanship result in continual repairs.

The notion that infrastructure should be built well to last decades has not yet been grasped. Spend a bit more getting it right from the very start, and avoid expensive mistakes further down the line. And planning high standards of energy efficiency from the start saves fortunes in utility bills over the decades.

Two recent lessons - the stretch of the A2 motorway construction awarded to Chinese contractor Covec in advance of the Euro 2012 football finals, and the runway at "Warsaw" Modlin Airport should give Poland's public procurement specialists some case studies in why cheapest is more expensive in the long run. Modlin airport was out of action for ten months last year.

Any plan to build infrastructure - be it roads, airports, water treatment plants, law courts, prisons, schools etc - should be costed over the lifetime of the project, and operating and maintenance costs put into the budget model. To often, this is not of interest to the ministries or the local authorities, operating on a one-election time horizon.

Best practice when procuring public infrastructure centres around obtaining best value for taxpayers' money over the long term. This is a lesson not only for procuring parties, but also for that alphabet soup of supervisory and regulatory authorities who control them - NIK (the supreme audit office), UZP (the office of public procurement), and CBA (the central anti-corruption bureau). Not forgetting RIO, KIO, GUS and UOKiK. The watchdogs need to know what's in the public interest (good design, solid workmanship, built-in energy efficiency) and what's not (no cost left uncut at the outset - and then an expensive mess to be cleared up later).

This sounds basic, and yet it's a long hard slog to persuade the decision makers to ditch 'lowest cost' for 'best whole-life value for taxpayers' money'. Part of the journey towards improved public institutions must centre around increasing the professionalism of those people who procure Poland's infrastructure. Only then will taxpayers trust that their money is being wisely spent. Enhanced civic trust is crucial to living in a happy country.

UPDATE 19.02.2014
To my shock, a report by my old employer, the CBI, is saying exactly the same thing... about British public procurement! Good Lord! In comparison, the UK is a shining exemplar! As the boss of any UK company out here in Poland how he/she compares bidding for tenders here with the process in the UK... Anyway, here's the link to the CBI report...  Key finding... "67% [of survey respondents] say lowest cost is still driving most contracting decisions, with only 2% saying contracts are decided on whole-life costs... "

This time last year:
Wait to spend or save lives now? An infrastructure quandry

This time five years ago:
It's not rich countries that build roads, its roads that build rich countries

This time six years ago:
Snow that was doomed to melt

Protecting Poland's railways - or not

Regular travellers on Poland's railway network will have observed the railway guard - Straż Ochrony Kolei - a strange institution - neither police force nor military formation, and you may have wondered - what are these guys doing? Are they protecting the travelling public? Making the railways feel more secure?

I don't really know. To me, it's another Polish institution long overdue for reform, in need of real purpose, a jobs-for-the-boys machine. Trains should feel safe - in general they do (with one exception I'll return to). But I posit that they feel safe because of a general improvement in social trust since communist days, rather than because 3,100 SOKists hang around the network.

Are these guys here to prevent graffiti being sprayed on trains stabled overnight in depots? Or to prevent overhead power lines from being stolen? Or to prevent terrorist attacks on Polish railways? I don't rightly know. From SOK's website, it's hard to fathom what this body is all about.

Below: reminds me of the communist-era joke: why do milicjanci hang around in threes? One who can read, one who can write, and one to keep an eye on the dangerous intellectuals. Back in Cold War days, this force existed to protect the Red Army's railway supply routes safe from NATO paratroopers - and Polish saboteurs. Today, this threat has disappeared, yet these guys still act as though it were 1952. But in hi-vis vests.

Below: why is it that drinking and smoking is tolerated on Polish suburban lines? Each three-carriage unit has a guard's compartment at the front and rear. A six-carriage set will have four such compartments, three of which (not occupied by the guard) form mobile drinking dens for Pan Heniek and Pan Ziutek returning home from work in Warsaw to Radom, Żyrardów or some other distant dormitory at the edge of Warsaw's gravitational pull. In these compartments, smoking and drinking are de rigeur, despite clear notices to the contrary. Smoke wafts into ordinary passenger carriages, the atmosphere is often boisterously aggressive, kurwa this, kurwa that, kurwa. Guards and ticket collectors rarely venture in. This is an everyday occurrence. Where are the SOKists?

The Polish parliament was all set to reform this outdated institution, reducing the number of its ranks and making it fit for purpose for today's needs. That was five years ago - since then - no change. I suspect another PSL sinecure. What's needed is a professional body that will genuinely assess risks to the network and to the traveller and act accordingly. Until the smokers and drinkers are removed from the no-smoking, no-drinking suburban trains (or else the law is amended to permit smoking and drinking in designated compartments), I will not take SOK seriously.

UPDATE FROM 2022: The behaviour above has all but disappeared, mainly due to the introduction of new rolling stock without enclosed compartments at the ends of the multiple units.

This time last year:
The end of winter? So early?

This time two years ago:
How much education for the nation?

This time three years ago:
To the Catch - short story

This time four years ago:
Eternal Warsaw

This time six years ago:
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