Monkey business

As autumn progresses, this column will be analyzing the contests taking place in Poland's local government elections as they unfold. However, at the outset, before we know who all the runners and riders are (closing date for nominations is on Sept. 27), it is worthwhile to remind ourselves of how party-political urban local government has become in Poland. The Warsaw City Council is funding a shelter for homeless animals located near Okźcie Airport. The first managers of the home were called the "Animalsi" foundation, and they were kicked out for alleged misdemeanors. A new manager was then appointed with the approval of the City Council. According to press reports, the shelter's new manager soon found himself in trouble. Audits of this home for animals found that expensive service contracts were signed for legal and accounting services, even though the shelter had its own in-house services. A set of expensive new computers was purchased, but never actually hooked up to a network. Two new cars were purchased. A contribution of $9,600 was unaccounted for. A set of paintings donated to the animal shelter, instead of going to auction, was missing. Even when it came to feeding the animals, there were irregularities. The auditors found food bills for expensive dried sausage (kabanos). This, according to some of the staff, was used to feed a monkey that the manager liked.

A straightforward case of someone abusing his position. A clear case for dismissal, I hear you say. Unfortunately, nothing is so simple in the world of local government. It turns out that the manager of the animal shelter was recommended and supported by one of the parties in the government's ruling coalition. As a result, there was considerable opposition to getting rid of the wayward manager. In local government, even offerings of pet food can be turned into a political issue. The manager eventually resigned. But he did not leave in disgrace. Instead, he was effectively promoted to head a task force for the financing and building of a new animal welfare center and given a job in the central administration of Warsaw! No doubt he will miss feeding his favorite monkey (and the monkey will certainly miss the kabanos). But the lack of shame involved in such a move on the part of the hacks who engineered it is breathtaking. Both the main contenders for the post of mayor of Warsaw, Andrzej Olechowski and Lech Kaczyński, promise that they will end such practices by introducing open competitions for appointments and by ensuring that all tenders are supervised by external observers. Olechowski has even made the bold promise that he will create a local civil service free of political interference. Readers may note that his own party's members, who have been running Warsaw for the past few years (both the last two mayors of Warsaw are Civic Platform members), never made any attempts to create such an administrative nirvana. Election promises and programs are one thing. Reality is quite another. Whatever the good intentions of men, such as Olechowski and Kaczyński, they have to rely on party people to manage their campaigns. After the election is won, those people want jobs and favors. Without that kind of patronage, no party could function in Poland, especially in these unemployment-riddled times.

This is why you can expect those animal welfare shelters and their ilk to remain party-political, however absurd in practice this may seem. In a country where even homes for stray dogs are playthings for political parties, do not expect to see any decrease in the amount of influence that political parties have on the economy. The urge and the perceived need to meddle and control is too strong. It is doubly so as parties in Poland function on the basis of labor exchanges. They do not think they can survive without having influence over economic deals and the ability to give their people jobs. Will this ever change? It might once a new wave of people enters politics - people who are financially independent and want to contribute something to public life without necessarily taking "a cut" for themselves. But I fear such a wave is still some way off. Poland is a country in which most people are struggling to make ends meet, and there is a recession going on to boot. For the time being, we will just have to put up with yet another set of local elections in which thousands of people attempt to get something for themselves, their families and their friends. The world of the proverbial stuffed white envelope and a 10% margin for the costs of acquiring sites and contracts is here to stay.

Chris Mularczyk is a Warsaw-based consultant. He can be e-mailed at cmularczyk@wbj.pl