Capital commotions
Due to a legal hitch, the Mayor faces termination of her mandate, as do over 300 other local officials. Now, politicians must settle on either overlooking some missteps or plunging hundreds of communities - including Warsaw - into months of uncertainty and political stalemate.
Over three hundred local government officials face the termination of their mandate due to a bureaucratic hitch. Among them is the newly elected Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz. The capital has became the front-line in the political struggle, with Civic Platform (PO) demanding amnesty and Law and Justice (PiS) claiming that no one is above the law.
While the politicians argue, Warsaw faces the possibility of months of uncertainty that could have repercussions on investments in the city.
When it emerged that Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz had failed to submit a declaration of her husband's assets on time, the ruling Law and Justice party didn't mince words. The Minister of Internal Affairs Ludwik Dorn declared bluntly that "Gronkiewicz-Waltz is no longer the mayor of Warsaw," Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński said that "legally speaking" she no longer holds that position. President Lech Kaczyński spoke less explicitly, claiming that her case "doesn't look good" in the view of the law.
According to the relevant regulations, elected local government officials have 30 days from the day they were sworn in to declare their own assets, whereas they have 30 days from the election day to submit their spouse's declaration. Gronkiewicz-Waltz exceeded the spousal deadline by two days.
Warsaw's new mayor blamed the clerks in the Voivod's office for misleading her about the deadline and claimed that she didn't even have to submit her husband's declaration as he doesn't carry out any economic activity in Warsaw (the declaration is obligatory if the economic activity takes place in the same place as where the candidate is running for office).
Still mayor
Dr Ryszard Piotrowski, a constitutional lawyer from Warsaw University, has no doubts about Gronkiewicz-Waltz's status as Mayor. "She is still Mayor, because she was democratically elected," he claims. "Election results cannot be decided by the political opponents of those who won them. This is a classic principle of division of power … Those taking part in the political game cannot decide on its validity," said Piotrowski.
"When you have the sovereign decision on one side and procedural shortcomings on the other, it is obvious what's more important," says Dr Radosław Markowski, a political analyst from the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). He points out that after every election there are dozens or even hundreds of complaints, many of which are recognized by the courts. However, as he explains, this doesn't mean that elections are invalidated - if the reason for a complaint did not affect the result of the voting.
Even if they are still in doubt about the legalities of the problem, experts do not believe politicians from PiS should be making judgments. "In a civilized state it is the court which decides such issues," said Andrzej Sadowski, vice-president of the Adam Smith Center.
Political provocation
PO politicians see it as another front of the political conflict that has been raging ever since PiS came to power in 2005. "I see this as a political provocation," states PO's Lech Jaworski, the Chairman of the Warsaw City Council. He accuses PiS of creating "an atmosphere of fear" and "escalating the state of the conflict." Jaworski has no doubts about the ruling party's intentions. "They want to win back Warsaw," he said.
But Markowski acknowledges that this wouldn't necessarily be a problem if Gronkiewicz-Waltz - a qualified lawyer - hadn't been negligent. "A lawyer should be able to submit an asset declaration and not explain that a clerk misinformed her," he says. "Nevertheless, if it wasn't this, another pretext would have been found."
Legal contradiction
Piotrowski points out a contradiction between two local government laws that led to the turmoil. The local government election law (ordynacja wyborcza samorządowa), which was hastily amended by the ruling coalition just before the latest elections, states that not submitting the required documents results in termination of the mandate. This serves as the basis for PiS' demands.
"Gronkiewicz-Waltz has to step down, because that's what the law says," said the head of the PiS club in the Warsaw City Council, Olga Johann.
However, another law regulating local government (ustawa samorządowa) states that not meeting the deadline results in officials losing their salary for that period. Clearly the two regulations are contradictory, but Piotrowski claims that it is not clear whether the new legislation superseded the stipulations of the previous bill, which would make the loss of salary a moot point. He added that some lawyers even consider both regulations to be in force.
"In my opinion we should abide by the rule that the new law supersedes the old one," Piotrowski said. Does this mean that Gronkiewicz-Waltz is no longer Mayor? Piotrowski says no. "The mandate can't be lost automatically. The fact that she didn't meet the regulation's requirements has just initiated the procedures that could lead to her losing the post," he explained.
An official has the right to a hearing at a local council meeting, which can decide on the termination of the mandate. However, the Warsaw City Council failed to take up Gronkiewicz-Waltz's case on its agenda two weeks ago. The Voivod, Wojciech Dąbrowski from PiS, asked the Council to declare the termination of the Mayor's mandate. The Council now has 30 days to respond. "We will not ignore the Voivod's motion, we will take part in the debate," PO's Jaworski promises.
The Council could force Gronkiewicz-Waltz to step down. "We will vote in favor of the Voivod's motion. This will push things forward," claims Olga Johann. "This way we could have elections within a few months and probably get the same Mayor anyway … It's important to make this road shorter," she concluded.
The City Council's conclusion can be easily predicted since a coalition between PO and the left has a clear majority.
However, the Voivod can suspend the acting mayor regardless of the Council's point of view. That would not put an end to the story though, as Gronkiewicz-Waltz could take the case to court. Only a court verdict could actually force Gronkiewicz-Waltz to step down.
That would mean bringing in a commissioner and holding new elections, which would cost an estimated zł.2-3 million in Warsaw alone. Across Poland more than 30 mayors and other local officials are in the same position, not to mention more than 300 local government officials of lower rank. But PiS is excluding the possibility of an amnesty. "Why do we have to bear the costs of the politicians' war?" Markowski asks "The money could be spent on fixing roads, on kindergartens, education, there are several burning issues."
Prolonged struggle
Warsaw thus faces the prospect of the conflict continuing for the next few months. Piotrowski reckons that it is a matter of three months after the case goes to court, though it could drag on for longer. Jaworski thinks that, optimistically speaking, the conflict could be solved in two months. Johann's view is less sunny. "If everything goes smoothly we could have the verdict in September," she said. Adding in appeals, she thinks the case could drag on much longer, even to next spring. "I'm counting on the politicians. Hopefully they will reach some kind of an agreement," Johann stated.
Knock-on effects
One has to ask how the legal and political dispute will affect Gronkiewicz-Waltz's powers. Will her decisions be legal? Piotrowski is sure that they will be. "Otherwise we would face a total paralysis of the city and its organs," he said.
But even if the mayor's decisions are valid, the on-going conflict could affect the quality of governing in Warsaw and the inflow of investments. "While this case is unresolved it's hard to expect the city to be managed properly," Jeremi Mordasewicz from the Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP) Lewiatan said. He underlines that the period before, during and just after the elections is usually a time of reduced effectiveness in public institutions. However, in this case the governmental impotence could go on for months.
"Warsaw will pay a heavy price for the conflict," says Jaworski. He ventures so far as to suggest that this is perhaps PiS' intention, to prolong the state of uncertainty in order to claim that PO is doing nothing in the city.
When asked about the affect of the crisis on investments in Warsaw, the founder of the Adam Smith Center doesn't think the situation is too serious. "Was it very different when we had a Mayor? It seems that whether we have one or not there isn't much difference," Sadowski states, pointing out that plans to erect the Northern Bridge have been around for years and that the construction of the subway has always been painfully slow.
Low-quality law
The Gronkiewicz-Waltz case has shed light on another issue - the quality of law in Poland. "This just proves that the deputies create tonnes of paper without even bothering to check its content," Sadowski states.
"It's the consequence of haste, lack of knowledge of the law and the fear that if we do not support radical solutions, it means we have something to hide," Piotrowski explains.
"Soon our legislation will be a textbook example of how law should not be created," Markowski says. He points out that it is typical for parties who preach centralization to believe in the omnipotence of written law. This approach, which Markowski says, is reflected in the desire to regulate every aspect of legal, social and political life. "No wonder that even the Deputies get confused by the regulations," he says.
