Going, going, gong
The award of an order or a medal can make a person walk taller, preen like a peacock and look down his nose at the rest of the unfortunate crowd. Poland is no exception, but the individual impact is much smaller than in many other countries. The reason is the number and diversity of the gongs which are presented.
Looking back at the 13 years since the major shake up occurred in national politics, the number of medals and orders pinned to the front of men's suits and ladies' dresses is truly mind-boggling.
General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the first elected president of the Republic of Poland after 1989, set what is still a record by decorating all of 238,000 persons during the 18 months in which he held office. The most common of all is the Medal of Merit, which comes in three classes - gold, silver and bronze - and is awarded to individuals whose work has been of particular value to the country and its citizens, who have performed their jobs in an exemplary manner, or have been particularly active in charity work. The definition is so vague that almost every adult could feasibly be granted such a medal. Jaruzelski distributed almost 140,000 crosses, while the next president - Lech Wałęsa - was somewhat more restrained, pinning on a mere 54,700 during his five-year term of office. But Aleksander Kwaniewski, the present head of state, has cast moderation to the wind during his seven years at the post, awarding 104,314 such medals, and he still has three years to go.
Some of the more exotic orders have disappeared from the official list, the two which once ranked highest and brought the greatest financial benefits being the Order of Builder of People's Poland and the Banner of Labour, the granting of which was accompanied by a fixed lifetime monthly increment to one's wage or pension. These two orders also opened doors to a glittering career if one entertained such ambitions. With such a title on your CV, your request or suggestion was their command.
The two highest ranking orders at present are the Order of the White Eagle and the Order of Polonia Restituta. Distinct from the Medal of Merit, these two orders are awarded exclusively for truly outstanding achievements for the benefit of the state and the people in all areas of life and also, very rarely, to select foreigners who have done much for Poland's standing in the world. The latter is the more common since it comes in four distinct classes: Grand Cross, Commander's Cross, Officer's Cross and Knight's Cross, which offer greater opportunities to differentiate the significance of individual achievements. A few have even been awarded to outstanding sportsmen - Olympic gold medal winners and world champions. Jaruzelski distributed 24,000, Wałęsa 7,200 and Kwaniewski - so far - 12,400. By far the most valued and rarely awarded is the Order of the White Eagle, granted to 54 Polish citizens by Kwaniewski and to 41 Poles by Wałesa. But none of these brings with it any financial benefits.
Kwaniewski has been delivering an average of 70,000 various medals and orders annually, at a cost to the national budget of around €756,000 (zł. 3 million) every year. The money is spent on the metals from which the crosses and orders are made, the porcelain with which several are coated and the complex methods used to produce the crosses of the Polonia Restituta and White Eagle Orders.
The biggest shower of medals descends when a government is ousted from office. The outgoing prime minister drafts a hefty list of honours, which the president, more often than not, approves uncritically.
When Kwaniewski was reelected president for a second term of office, he took the opportunity to honour 12 friends from his days as a student starting out on a political career with the National Students Union, awarding them one Polonia Restituta Officer's Cross, two Knight's Crosses and nine Crosses of Merit of various colours.
An event to which no official reference was ever made was the award of distinctions by Kwaniewski to a number of left-wing provincial governors and MPs who were not reelected after the 1997 parliamentary elections in which they flopped.
But do not think for a single moment that these several hundred thousand orders and distinctions are personally pinned to proudly-presented breasts by the president, who would doubtless suffer a physical breakdown if he were to attempt it. There are lots of henchmen only too willing to help him out, surely in the conviction that their efforts may be duly noted in their files, against a future personal award for them, too.
Let me also say that various organisations, as well as the military, have their own good-service distinctions and medals for bravery, which they also present for other services rendered.
In conclusion, one delightful fact: the huge number of distinctions includes a large percentage awarded for "Long Conjugal Life."
I have heard it said, maliciously, that it would be more difficult to find someone who has not been awarded one kind of gong or another than a member of the vast throng who can display bits of shining metal on their chests during official events.
Looking back at the 13 years since the major shake up occurred in national politics, the number of medals and orders pinned to the front of men's suits and ladies' dresses is truly mind-boggling.
General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the first elected president of the Republic of Poland after 1989, set what is still a record by decorating all of 238,000 persons during the 18 months in which he held office. The most common of all is the Medal of Merit, which comes in three classes - gold, silver and bronze - and is awarded to individuals whose work has been of particular value to the country and its citizens, who have performed their jobs in an exemplary manner, or have been particularly active in charity work. The definition is so vague that almost every adult could feasibly be granted such a medal. Jaruzelski distributed almost 140,000 crosses, while the next president - Lech Wałęsa - was somewhat more restrained, pinning on a mere 54,700 during his five-year term of office. But Aleksander Kwaniewski, the present head of state, has cast moderation to the wind during his seven years at the post, awarding 104,314 such medals, and he still has three years to go.
Some of the more exotic orders have disappeared from the official list, the two which once ranked highest and brought the greatest financial benefits being the Order of Builder of People's Poland and the Banner of Labour, the granting of which was accompanied by a fixed lifetime monthly increment to one's wage or pension. These two orders also opened doors to a glittering career if one entertained such ambitions. With such a title on your CV, your request or suggestion was their command.
The two highest ranking orders at present are the Order of the White Eagle and the Order of Polonia Restituta. Distinct from the Medal of Merit, these two orders are awarded exclusively for truly outstanding achievements for the benefit of the state and the people in all areas of life and also, very rarely, to select foreigners who have done much for Poland's standing in the world. The latter is the more common since it comes in four distinct classes: Grand Cross, Commander's Cross, Officer's Cross and Knight's Cross, which offer greater opportunities to differentiate the significance of individual achievements. A few have even been awarded to outstanding sportsmen - Olympic gold medal winners and world champions. Jaruzelski distributed 24,000, Wałęsa 7,200 and Kwaniewski - so far - 12,400. By far the most valued and rarely awarded is the Order of the White Eagle, granted to 54 Polish citizens by Kwaniewski and to 41 Poles by Wałesa. But none of these brings with it any financial benefits.
Kwaniewski has been delivering an average of 70,000 various medals and orders annually, at a cost to the national budget of around €756,000 (zł. 3 million) every year. The money is spent on the metals from which the crosses and orders are made, the porcelain with which several are coated and the complex methods used to produce the crosses of the Polonia Restituta and White Eagle Orders.
The biggest shower of medals descends when a government is ousted from office. The outgoing prime minister drafts a hefty list of honours, which the president, more often than not, approves uncritically.
When Kwaniewski was reelected president for a second term of office, he took the opportunity to honour 12 friends from his days as a student starting out on a political career with the National Students Union, awarding them one Polonia Restituta Officer's Cross, two Knight's Crosses and nine Crosses of Merit of various colours.
An event to which no official reference was ever made was the award of distinctions by Kwaniewski to a number of left-wing provincial governors and MPs who were not reelected after the 1997 parliamentary elections in which they flopped.
But do not think for a single moment that these several hundred thousand orders and distinctions are personally pinned to proudly-presented breasts by the president, who would doubtless suffer a physical breakdown if he were to attempt it. There are lots of henchmen only too willing to help him out, surely in the conviction that their efforts may be duly noted in their files, against a future personal award for them, too.
Let me also say that various organisations, as well as the military, have their own good-service distinctions and medals for bravery, which they also present for other services rendered.
In conclusion, one delightful fact: the huge number of distinctions includes a large percentage awarded for "Long Conjugal Life."
I have heard it said, maliciously, that it would be more difficult to find someone who has not been awarded one kind of gong or another than a member of the vast throng who can display bits of shining metal on their chests during official events.
