34 years old Sanna Szortyka moved from Poland to Finland just under five years ago. His father is Polish and his mother is Finnish.
Szortyka has settled in Finland with her one and a half year old child and her Finnish husband. He visits Poland a couple of times a year.
He anxiously watched whether the so-called democratic opposition would win the Polish elections. Szortyka’s wish came true.
– Now there is a lot of hope that the situation would change for the better: Poland would regain its own strong place in the EU, get back to the discussion tables there, and we would bring about reforms that would make people’s lives easier, says Szortyka.
He says that he has followed Poland’s development in recent years with concern. He especially hopes that women’s rights and the situation of minorities will improve.
The Polish government has weakened women’s rights and practically banned abortions completely.
– The tightening of the abortion law was sad and dangerous, he sighs.
As a pregnant woman, she did not dare to travel to Poland.
– It has also been a tough place, how the ruling party has fueled people’s hatred towards, for example, minorities.
Now the Poles who voted in Finland distanced themselves from the so-called “Hungarian road” along with many other Poles.
The Poles visited the urn historically actively
In the Polish parliamentary elections, the voter turnout rose to a historically high level, as almost 75 percent of eligible voters voted. In Finland, similar figures were reached last time in the parliamentary elections in 1987.
The most likely future government will consist of a pro-EU centrist citizen coalition, the left and the center-right party called “Third Way”.
Only about eight percent of Poles who voted in Finland voted for the Law and Justice party. Voting was therefore different in Finland than in Poland.
According to Statistics Finland, approximately 5,000 Polish citizens lived in Finland in 2022.
“Politics has caused disputes in families and clans”
Academy researcher at the University of Helsinki Timo Miettinen has said that the biggest decision in the Polish election was between the conservative, autocratic Hungarian way and the European softening way.
According to Sanna Szortyka, the opposition’s election victory means that people wanted change. Also the enthusiasm of young people to vote rose significantly.
After the elections, the Law and Justice party is still the largest party with over 35 percent support.
Szortyka believes that the reason behind the party’s success is that it has brought to the fore the concerns of citizens who are not doing very well in life.
He would prefer to see Poland as a liberal state where there would be a place for everyone as they are and where the country would have a strong position in Europe.
Poland is a politically very divided country.
– The Polish people are really wonderful. I hope that there would be no quarrels. In recent years, politics has caused a lot of disputes in families and clans.
Tomasz Kucner is worried about the division of Poland
Tomasz Kucner36, has lived in Helsinki with his family since 2021.
Kucner moved to Finland because he got an assistant professor position at Aalto University. He wrote his dissertation in Sweden.
He has conflicting ideas about Poland’s development in recent years.
According to Kucner, Poland has changed a lot in ten years compared to the beginning of the 21st century. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. Now the EU has frozen Poland’s support money and the rule of law has been dented.
One thing worries him more than anything else: the division of Poles.
– The social and political debate has been more divided than before, and I am not satisfied with that.
Despite the challenges, Kucner is very happy that so many Poles voted. In light of the statistics, especially middle-class city dwellers became more active to vote.
– It shows that the Poles are not bitter, but that they are ready to act.
Political scandals are boring
Kucner hopes that the next government will not have as many scandals as the current one. According to him, the upheavals that took place during the current government have not done any good.
– The government has acted according to the law, but without good manners and decency.
One of the latest scandals was that of consulates possible bribesso that foreigners can get work visas.
Kucner wants Poland to change under the next government.
He hopes that the new government will be truly fair and stop dividing the nation. He wants Poland to have a clear direction of what it wants to be in the future.
However, Kucner is worried about whether any party will be able to form a functioning government.
But why do so many Poles vote for the Law and Justice party? Kucner and Szortyka have their own views.
– A certain group of voters actually got money when the party increased the child allowance. In addition, the party promises stability and predictable politics, at least for pensioners and those living in rural areas, says Kucner.
– Poland changed rapidly. Some did better and some worse. It may be that previously the voice of those who did not do so well was not heard, says Szortyka.
What thoughts do the Polish elections and the development of democracy in Poland evoke? You can discuss the topic until Sunday, October 22 at 11 p.m.