Anna Grodzka MP joins the Green Party

Friday, 27th June. Anna Grodzka MP of the Your Movement defected to the Green Party.  Grodzka will stay in the Your Movement's parliamentary group in order to continue her work as rapporteur of several pieces of legislation: a major progressive revision of the Labour Code, a revision of the Protection of Tenants Act, and a new draft law on gender identity.

Anna Grodzka was elected in 2011 from the list of the Palikot Movement. Before her parliamentary career, she was an entrepreneur and LGBT activist. A self-described eco-socialist, she is currently the only serving transgender member of parliament in the world.

Explaining her decision in an interview with Bartłomiej Kozek of the Zielone Wiadomości (Green News), Grodzka said: „The Greens have a crucial role to play. What we need in Poland is a broad, left-wing, democratic alliance able to resist the duopoly of the right – the neoliberal-statist political block consisting of Law and Justice and Civic Platform. I intend to work on building such an alliance.” The potential for change in the political landscape lies in social movements, Grodzka stressed: „It is social movements that have been the bearers of the will of change, they demand more democracy, a fairer economic policy, sustainable development...”

Referring to her former party, Janusz Palikot's Your Movement, Grodzka said: „Your Movement did change the politics in Poland for the better. […] I am quitting, because the party has fulfilled its historic role. I am glad that I could be part of it. But now, more and more people have the feeling that Your Movement has lost direction […] Janusz Palikot needs to decide whether he wants to build a left-wing party in terms of economic policies, or a liberal one.”

Grodzka pointed out several occasions when she was successful in convincing the Your Movement parliamentary group to take a more left-wing direction. In other cases, however, she voted otherwise than her colleagues. She was against the raising of the retirement age to 67 (from 65 for men and 60 for women) and against supporting the Kraków's bid for being the host city of the Winter Olympic Competition in 2022.

In a press release, the leaders of the Polish Greens Agnieszka Grzybek and Adam Ostolski state that Grodzka has been working together with their party on many issues for a long time. They point out at a deep affinity of Grodzka's political positions and Green policies. They also stress that the Green Party remains equally critical of both parties of the parliamentary left, Your Movement and Democratic Left Alliance alike.

More: interview with Anna Grodzka on her joining the Green Party (in Polish)

Adam Ostolski: Ökologie ist in Polen ein mühsames Geschäft

Friedemann  Kohler: Herr Ostolski, war Polen ein guter Gastgeber für die Weltklimakonferenz?

Adam Ostolski: Die Konferenz hat leider die Befürchtung der ökologischen Bewegung bestätigt, dass Polen in der Klimapolitik keine positive Rolle spielt. Die Regierung verfolgte ein Alles oder Nichts. Sie wollte erreichen, dass alle Staaten der Welt sich in der Klimapolitik einigen – sonst lohnt es sich nicht, etwas zu tun. Polen verwarf damit das Konzept von Vorreiterschaft, dass einige Staaten, zum Beispiel die Europäische Union ehrgeizigere Ziele verfolgen als andere. Zweitens hat Polen die Klimakonferenz benutzt, um Lobbyarbeit für Kohleenergie zu betreiben.

Friedemann  Kohler: Warum ist Kohle so wichtig für die polnische Wirtschaft?

Es gibt Gründe, sich für polnische Kohle einzusetzen. Fast 90 Prozent unserer Energie stammt aus fossilen Brennstoffen. Polen hat eigene Braunkohle, und die Förderung lohnt sich. Steinkohle müssen auch wir importieren. Kohle zu beschränken würde große Verwerfungen in der Wirtschaft bedeuten, nicht nur im Bergbau, sondern auch in den Kraftwerken und anderen Branchen. Es fragt sich aber, ob die polnische Regierung zurecht so stark auf die Kohle setzt.

Selbst wir als polnische Grüne wollen keinen sofortigen und vollständigen Abschied von der Kohle. Wir wollen aber, dass die Regierung die ersten Schritte in die richtige Richtung macht. Das wäre ein Modernisierung des Leitungsnetzes, denn etwa die Hälfte der Energie geht beim Transport verloren.

Energiesparen ist überhaupt ein wichtiges Thema beim Klimaschutz, und das würde keineswegs einen sofortigen Ausstieg aus der Kohle bedeuten. Aber wenn man den Klimawandel leugnet und gar nichts tut, muss später alles auf einmal geschehen, und dann werden die gesellschaftlichen Kosten riesig sein.

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Europe from Below

Europe from Below is a conference co-organized by the Polish Greens, the Polish Teachers' Union and the National Union of Nurses and Midwives in Warsaw, 7th September 2013.

Programme in English

11.00-11.30 Opening of the Congress and welcome speeches

11.30-13.00 Europe after the Fiscal Compact

In which direction is the European Union heading to? Is there a chance to build Europe oriented to the needs of its citizens, rather than banks and financial markets?

Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens/EFA MEP), Agnieszka Grzybek (Co-leader of the Polish Greens), Łukasz Moll (Greens, moderator), Leokadia Oręziak (Warsaw School of Economics)

13.00-13.30 - Lunch

13.30-15.00 - Education - a common good

All over Europe, austerity policies include cuts in education. Will education survive the present crisis? What reforms can we, and what reforms should we demand in response to the neoliberal policies?

Sławomir Broniarz (President of the Polish Teachers' Union), Elżbieta Gajek (Professor at the University of Warsaw), Danuta Kuroń (founder of the Open University in Teremiski), Jean Lambert (Greens/EFA MEP), Dorota Obidniak (Polish Teachers' Union, moderator)

15:00 - 15:15 - Coffee break

15.15-16.45 - We are all patients

There is a strengthening pression to privatize health care and limit access to health services, not only in countries affected by austerity. What are the consequences of such policies and how can we oppose it? What sort of health care harmonization should we demand on the EU level?

Kinga Dunin ("Political Critique", Medical University of Warsaw, moderator), Ska Keller (Greens/EFA MEP), Adam Ostolski (Co-leader of the Polish Greens), Lilianna Piotrowska (National Union of Nurses and Midwives)

16.45-17:00 - Coffee break

17:00-18.30 - Internet and digital citizenship

ACTA is down, but new threats to the freedom and privacy on the Internet are looming large. Negotiations on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership may bring about laws similar to those in the ACTA. The PRISM scandal revealed the extent to which citizens of Europe are already invigilated. How to oppose these tendencies and build a world where our digital rights would be safeguarded?

Michel Bauwens (P2P Foundation), Józef Halbersztadt (Internet Society Polska), Bartłomiej Kozek ("Green News", moderator), Radosław Pietroń (Polish Pirate Party), Eleanor Saitta (Open Internet Tools Project, Geeks Without Bounds)

18.30-18.45 - Closing of the Congress

Let's play for a better Europe!

We are joining the European Union in order to change it and have influence on the standards of living in the future common Europe.

Green Manifesto, 2003

LET’S PLAY FOR A BETTER EUROPE

When we were campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum on Poland’s accession into the European Union, we underlined that we were wanted to join the EU in order to help enact change. . We stressed that EU membership was first of all an opportunity to ensure Poland's sustainable development in its social, ecological and economic aspects. That it would be a chance for us to ensure social justice and solidarity, better protection of women’s rights and equal opportunities for women and men and to respect cultural diversity and the rights of minorities.

In 2009, when the first symptoms of the financial and economic crisis struck Europe, we stated in our European Manifesto that the European Union needed a change. Today Europe is suffering from multiple crises at the institutional level which is closely linked with a democractic deficit in the EU and rooted in the uncertainty and fear felt by many people due to thethe lack of social, economic and ecological security. It leads to increasing nationalistic and xenophobic attitudes in the European countries and hostility towards strangers and migrants. Neoliberal policies implemented in the recent years have made the dream of building a Europe free from poverty a distant one. Instead of a social union, we only have a monetary union. Instead of a democratic union, we have a technocratic entity which becomes less and less understandable for ordinary citizens who are losing their faith in the sense of the European project.

The EU needs a change! The problems which have been arising in the European countries – such as 30% level of poverty in the countries struck by the crisis, 50% unemployment among young people and the dismantling of social security – will not be solved by a new financial architecture of the European Union as embodied in the fiscal compact. Monetary policy narrowly focused on controlling inflation and fiscal discipline makes it impossible to implement anti-cyclical policies that would give a chance to create new green jobs and make sustainable investments.

Despite the lofty ideals of European integration, the EU became a battlefield of national interests which we could observe at the last EU Brussels Summit when the future EU budget for 2014-2020 was negotiated. Poland is unfortunately a discreditable example. Despite the social interest and common good, the Polish government has been blocking ambitious EU climate policies which could counteract climate change caused by the irrational exploitation of human behavior. The Crisis related to climate change is a reverse of the economic crisis. If we do not transform our economies from high- into low-carbon economies so troubles will only increase.

The proposed solution are policies combining economic security with social and ecological security, alongside a democratization of the European Union.

We do believe that a different Europe is possible – open and strong, founded on social and ecological solidarity. We do believe that sustainable development of Europe without crises from which everyone can benefit is possible. It must be based on the shift from the philosophy of growth based on the rapacious exploitation of natural and human resources to a philosophy of sustainable development. This aim can be achieved due to the ecological transformation of the economy.

We want Europe for ants and not for anteaters which is rooted in a vision of the following ten rules:

1. The foundation of sustainable development is based upon four freedoms stated in the Atlantic Charter: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom from fear and freedom from want. A united Europe must embody these freedoms and guard them.
   
   
2. Deeper integration can be achieved not by writing a new treaty, but by rebuilding citizenship in all its aspects: reclaiming civic, political and social citizenship. European institutions may not be less democratic than the institutions created in the nation states during the 20^h century. Social citizenship needs to be defined at the European level – all Europeans shall exercise the same social rights.
   
   
3. We shall be united not only by the memory of World War II, but we shall also be aware of challenges related to the climate crisis. Climate federalism means energetic solidarity, joint investments in the ecological transformation of the economy, independence from economic growth. The countries which are dependent mostly on carbon and may have difficulties shifting rapidly to a low-carbon economy shall be especially supported.
   
   
4. Europe needs a more solid budget based on truly European taxes. The EU budget shall need to constitute 10-20% of EU GDP if we want to ensure EU stability and an adequate level of redistribution between different regions. It shall be spent on: a) ensuring all Europeans a minimum of social rights, b) research, especially searching for new medicines and developing renewable technologies, c) just transition towards low-carbon economy.
   
   
5. United Europe needs a fundamental reform of the financial sector. The financial sector must serve the real economy, and not vice versa; and the economy must serve human needs, and not vice versa. In the countries suffering from growing public debt an audit shall be conducted by the citizens or public debt shall be cancelled. The European Central Bank shall be reformed: members of trade unions and environmental experts shall be a part of the council deciding on monetary policy. Keeping low inflation at any price cannot be the only goal of the European Central Bank. It shall take care of “economic justice, full employment and social security for all European citizens” (“10 ATTAC’s Rules for Democratic and Social Constitution”).
   
   
6. Europe can be a continent of many currencies. There is a place not only for euro but also for local, regional and national currencies. We must free our imagination! Democracy, diversity and subsidiarity shall be taken into consideration while designing monetary system. Diversity makes the system more resilient. Subsidiarity favors democracy. Functions which are designed for a local currency cannot be imposed on a national currency and functions which are designed for a national currency cannot be imposed on the euro. A policy which helps to create currencies by local communities at the grassroot level shall be implemented. EU member states shall have a choice about whether they would like to keep their own national currency (or to bring it back) or adopt the euro as their basic currency. Separate nstitutions for the eurozone shall not be build except for those which are necessary from a purely technical point of view.
   
   
7. A common economic zone in Europe shall favor localization of production and exchange. Europe shall not favor either social or ecological dumping or cthe ommodification of public services, but it shall create instruments which help to improve living standards.
   
   
8. Freedom of speech means also open access to culture, open sources, wide and non-restricted access to Internet and patent laws which favor the common good and not the interests of big corporations.
   
   
9. Europe shall support food sovereignty in the respective countries, regions and local communities. Instead of extensive agriculture we shall support smaller and more ecological farms. Europe shall be a continent free from GMO. The Common Agricultural Policy shall be reformed according to the proposal made by the European Movement for Food Sovereignty Nyéléni.
   
   
10. Europe cannot close itself to migrants especially those who leave their countries in order to avoid persecutions. In accordance with the principles stated forth in the Atlantic Charter, Europe shall support fair trade instead of “free trade” in international negotiations.

Manifesto adopted at the 7th Congress of the Green Party, co-sponsored by Agnieszka Grzybek and Adam Ostolski.

Ewa Sufin-Jacquemart: Le VII Congrès du parti des Verts polonais

C'est avec plaisir que je partage avec mes amis francophones les résultats du VII Congrès du parti des Verts polonais. Le congrès a élu pour deux ans de nouvaux co-présidents (la parité statutaire oblige…): Agnieszka Grzybek et dr Adam Ostolski.

Agnieszka Grzybek commence ainsi son troisième mandat (deuxième consécutif), Adam Ostolski, sociologue, tête pensante et l’homme des compromis du parti, s’est porté candidat pour la première fois et a tout de suite eu confiance de la grande majorité des délegués présents. Tous les deux ont la même compréhension des thèmes stratégiques, entre autres la même vision de l’Europe.

"Nous avons besoin d'un débat honnête sur l'Europe”, a déclaré Adam Ostolski dans le communiqué officiel du partii émis après le congrès. „Au lieu de s’enfermer dans une fausse alternative „plus ou moins d’Europe", nous devrions enfin commencer à débattre de comment cette Europe doit être, de quelle Europe nous voulons et de ce que nous pourrions bâtir. Les Verts se prononcent en faveur de l’Europe des citoyens et des citoyennes, qui garantirait à tous les droits sociaux fondamentaux et la possibilité d'un développement durable. Nous sommes pour l'Europe qui ne met pas sur le dos des populations le coût de la crise provoquée par les banques. Pour l'Europe au budget fédéral solide et à l’ambitieuse politique de protection du climat. Nous invitons aujourd'hui toutes celles et tous ceux qui partagent cette vision de l'Europe, à travailler ensemble avec nous".

„Nous voulons convaincre les gens que la politique peut être différente. La crise qui frappe l'Europe depuis des années est le résultat des politiques irresponsables et non durables, fondées sur l'exploitation des ressources non renouvelables. Il est temps de rétablir l'équilibre. C'est pourquoi nous parlons de la nécessité de connecter la sécurité écologique avec la securité sociale et économique. Nous offrons le Green New Deal qui offre une vraie chance de surmonter la crise et d’assurer le développement durable”, a déclaré Agnieszka Grzybek. „La transformation écologique de l'économie créera des milliers d'emplois verts dans les secteurs liés à l'énergie renouvelable, à l'efficacité énergétique, aux transports publics, à la construction écologique. Une partie intégrante de cette réforme devrait être le développement des services de soins.”

Suite aux modifications du statut du partii, le nom officiel du partii a été changé: le nom „Zieloni 2004” (Les Verts 2004) devient un nom historique (toujours protégé) et le parti dorénavent porte le nom „Zieloni” (Les Verts). Le Bureau n’étant plus éligible par le Congrés, ce sont les co-présidents qui ont proposé sa composition, validée ensuite par le Conseil nouvellement élu. Ainsi le partii sera gouverné par une vraie équipe des gens qui s’entendent et qui ont la meme vision de la stratégie et des priorités. Souhaitons beaucoup de succès aux Verts polonais, notamment aux prochaines élections européennes.

Ewa Sufin-Jacquemart

How Poland became greener in 2010

2010 was a strange year for Poland, with the Smoleńsk tragedy and its aftermath, early presidential elections, and floods. Also for the Greens, it was a long and unusual year, a year of breaking through. The electoral breakthrough in the local elections in November, with our first ever elected councillors and members of regional parliaments, did not happen in a void. First there were significant changes within the Green Party, as well as important changes in the general political context.

The sense of breaking through first came to my mind in April, during Green Party Conference. At the Conference we accepted four policy documents, precising our aims and values in the domain of electoral law, social policy, health service, and education. The discussion was informed, passionate, and fruitful. The new policy documents resolved a prolonged tension within the party concerning our stance on social and economic policies. It gave our leaders and activists a tremendous sense of empowerment.

Małgorzata Tkacz-Janik
(photo from Wikipedia)

Then there was a series of changes in the political situation. In the presidential elections, the Greens supported Grzegorz Napieralski, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). His political programme proved closer to the Green vision than the programme of any other candidate. Then there were long and difficult talks about a coalition in the local elections. We achieved an agreement, and in the November elections many Green candidates (though not all) ran on Social Democratic ballot. Now we have two members of regional parliaments: Małgorzata Tkacz-Janik (co-leader of the Greens) in Silesia and Ewa Koś in West Pommerania, and three members of municipal councils: Beata Kubica in Opole, Krystian Legierski in Warsaw and Sebastian Kotlarz in the rural commune of Kąty Wielkie. Sebastian Kotlarz was elected as an independent Green candidate in a first-past-the-post constituency, he highlighted his Feminist convictions in his campaign. Krystian Legierski is not only the first Green councillors in Warsaw, but also the first out gay candidate elected to a political office in Poland; we have made history.

But there was also an important breakthrough in Polish media. In 2010, two strong taboos were definitely broken. First, there is no longer a taboo concerning the Church and State relations in Poland. Until August 2010, the overwhelming majority of Polish people discontent with the dominant position of the Catholic Church in political life or its economic privileges had been virtually voiceless and invisible. Those who would question the privileges of the Church would be often dismissed as 'extremists.' Now it has all changed. The position of the Church started to lose its unquestionable status in April, when the Church supported the controversial burial of the late president Lech Kaczyński in the Wawel Cathedral. Then the media started to discuss the workings of the Property Commission that was responsible for transfering to the Church institutions valuable properties and tremendous sums of money on grounds that seem quite unclear, to say the least. And then there was a conflict about the cross put by scouts in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw in the days of Smoleńsk mourning. On 9th August, a huge crowd of young people come to demand the displacement of the cross and a closer separation of Church and State. Now it is evident that anticlerical demands have supporters ready to come out and defend their right to be heard.

And there is also a second taboo that did not survive the turbulences of 2010. It is the Polish system of pensions introduced by the infamous government of Jerzy Buzek. Until recently, it was unquestionable. Now, even some neoliberal experts denounce it as irrational and costly. So there is also much more space for its progressive critics to speak out.

The Greens start the new year empowered -- with our new programme, with our councillors, and with media more open to debate. But 2011 will also be a year of challenges, parliamentary elections and debate on nuclear energy in Poland not least important among them.

Adam Ostolski

A new opening for the Left (and Greens)

May Day: Greens march with
trade unions and SLD
(photo by Alicja Szymczak)

Of course, I am less than happy with the outcome of the presidential elections, but the struggle carries on. Many among the Greens feel that the main obstacle for a reemergence of progressive politics in Poland is the anti-Law and Justice (PiS) hysteria. It prompts many otherwise left-leaning voters and opinion leaders to support the Civic Platform (PO), a deeply conservative and market fundamentalist party passing for "liberal", but hardly representing any progressive agenda at all. The anti-PiS mobilization wipes everything that is progressive, green, feminist, social democratic or even liberal out of the scope of reasonable political choice. I am amazed how many in the liberal media follow this suicidal path.
It is in this context that the result of Grzegorz Napieralski, the leader of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), also supported by the Greens, is considered to be a miracle. He obtained nearly 14 per cent of the popular vote. Were the circumstances different, it would not be that impressive. But it was deemed to be a failure. In the time of sharp polarization, with only reluctant help of most other SLD leaders, and with some of them (Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz) even openly supporting his Conservative rival Bronisław Komorowski, he was expected to win no more than 3 or 5 per cent of the vote.

But why is it a new opening for the Left? And, even more so, for the Greens?

Napieralski showed his political cunning in not supporting either Komorowski or Jarosław Kaczyński in the second round. He let them struggle for the minds and hearts of his voters by including left-wing agenda in their programmes. And they did it, or at least they did try. Komorowski started to talk about public financing of in vitro fertilization, 35 per cent obligatory quotas for women on the lists to Parliament, and cheaper railway tickets for students. Kaczyński raised the issues of labour relations, public health care and the model of welfare state. He even called the institution of permanent employment contract "one of the very fundaments of our civilization." So, progressive agenda unexpectedly appeared in the very center of debate between... two right wing candidates.

But obviously, it is not the Right that is going to represent this agenda in the future. But will the Left be able to do it? Napieralski declares he wants to cleanse his party of neoliberal elements that proved so unuseful and even disloyal during his presidential campaign. He probably will attempt a renewal of the SLD in a close cooperation with the Greens, the Women's Party, and trade unions. If only he is consistent and determined, he can transform SLD from the party of postcommunist establishment into a genuine Social Democracy. And this would open the way, in Poland, for a more progressive future.

Adam Ostolski

Greens after Party Conference

The previous weekend (16 and 17 April) Polish Greens gathered in Warsaw for the fourth Party Conference. It was my third party congress since I joined the Greens, and so far the most exciting one. We made some changes in the ranks of our leadership: Dariusz Szwed has retained his position of the male co-chair, while Agnieszka Grzybek has been replaced by Małgorzata Tkacz-Janik as the female co-chair of the party. But what is the most important, we had occasion to discuss and update our political programme. What it means to be "Green" in today's Poland? What sort of alternative to the dominant Civic Platform -- and to the political scene in general -- are we dreaming of? We have always been an anti-neoliberal party, but what it precisely means in 2010, seven years after our party's establishment?

After the conference, some are speaking of a "social turn" in our politics, while others claim we simply made our long-held principles more detailed. Anyway, there is a sense of breakthrough. At the conference we adopted four documents: on electoral law, on social policy, on public health, and on education. It is now much clearer what do we stand for in these domains, what sort of electoral reform do we propose in order to reopen Poland's political landscape, and what our vision of social justice is like.

In electoral law we stand for the opening of political scene for new parties and movements by lowering thresholds, as well as introducing restrictions on commercial electoral campaigns. We also support better representation of women in politics and lowering of the voting age in local elections to 16.

In social policy, public health & education we stand for the vision of public services strongly opposed to their commodification and privatisation. Especially health and education should be treated as human rights, and not commodities. We want better protection of women's rights in employment, health, and education policy. We support employment policy based on jobs creation, and not only on the "activation" of the unemployed. We want to foster better work-life balance in order to support public health and create better conditions for gender equality within family. We stand for policies that would diminish social and economic inequalities between people.

Sounds great, ain't it? What we still lack, however, is the power to translate it into binding laws and policies. But no worry, next local elections will be soon.

Dariusz Szwed and Małgorzata Tkacz-Janik, co-chairs


Ewa Charkiewicz and Paweł Fischer-Kotowski


Johann Bros


Adam Ostolski


Bartłomiej Kozek


Bartłomiej Kozek, Irena Kołodziej and Aleksandra Kretkowska


Hanna Gill-Piątek and Wojtek Kłosowski, voting


photo by: Maciej "Psych" Smykowski

Between East and West

Polish Shades of Green is a collection of articles edited by Przemysław Sadura. It is an attempt to situate the condition of Green politics in Poland in different contexts: historical, sociological, and political ones. It sheds some light on the potentials and barriers for greening the Polish political scene.

The book was originally written in Polish, but now there is also an English translation available on the website of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. I am not going to summarize it here, since the texts speak best for themselves. But I think it worthwile to write a few words about what it means for me that this book is now being published in English. It is, from my point of view, first and foremost an exercise in cultural translation. Especially the legacy of social movements is different on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and I think it gives way to many misunderstandings.

I wrote for the book a text entitled "Between East and West." My purpose was to understand, how the meaning of 1968 was different on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Although the Eastern and Western protest movements of the 1960s had a lot in common, what emerged from them was rather different. In the 1970s, the communication between "new social movements" in the West and the "democratic opposition" in the East might have been quite intensive, but their ideologies and sensibilities were at the same time more and more distinct.

The true counterparts of Western grassroot movements emerged in Poland only in the mid 1980s. In her text, Ewa Charkiewicz writes about her participation in the environmental movement "Wolę Być" (I Prefer to Be). Her focus is on how the Wolę Być (and other social movements) experienced the fateful year 1989. In her narrative, personal memories combine with sharp analysis. Environmental, pacifist, feminist, and LGBT movements had already existed before 1989, and activists of those movements experienced the fall of ancien régime in their own way, different from apparatchiks, to be sure, but also different from leaders of Solidarność. Since the political scene since 1989 has been divided between Solidarność on the one hand, and the successors of Polish United Workers' Party on the other, a space for Green politics simply did not emerge. Step by step, protest movements became parts of the "civil society." They have become "professional," turned into "non-governmental organizations," and learned how to apply for grants.

The present condition of social movements turned into NGOs is analysed by Agnieszka Graff. Being professional is not only a stage of maturity, but also a political condition with serious implications for grassroot democracy, independence from state (or market) power, and ability to articulate social anger. In all these respects there is a setback. And that explains why the basis for Green politics is so weak.

I focused on the texts by Ewa Charkiewicz, Agnieszka Graff and myself, since I believe there can be no social or political change without thriving grassroot movements. I hope the publication of this book in English will help to understand the differences in the situation of Green movements in both parts of Europe.

Adam Ostolski

Free to care

I have just read my previous posts and I realized that I may sound a bit morose. Actually, I am not pessimistic at all. There are some signs of hope around, and especially within the Greens.

Oddly enough, the Green Party came out of these elections internally strengthened. The coalition was by no means a dream team, and especially the Liberals were dragging us all down most of the time. So we decided as Greens to go on with a campaign of our own. We campaigned against Barroso and for the "European dream." This helped us to take a more critical stance on European policies. When we were preparing for the campaign, we had to define for what sort of Europe we stand.

We found it is all about four basic liberties: freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. It was on behalf of those freedoms that the Allies combatted Fascism in World War II. Of course, we live in a different world now than we did 60 years ago. Nowadays, freedom of expression would be meaningless without the right to free internet, for example, and freedom from fear implies strong protection from social dumping and fighting against climate change, etc. etc. That is why we need Green politics, to redefine what all these freedoms actually mean today.

Next Autumn we are going to have municipal & presidential elections. We have been already thinking how do these freedoms translate into local policies.

*

On Friday, we had surprise guests in our Warsaw office: José Antonio Vergara from Chile and Mireille Grosjean form Switzerland, two Green comrades who came to Poland for the Universala Kongreso de Esperanto in Białystok. It is amazing how close is the relationship between Green ideals and Esperanto, as a language build aroud the idea of peace and equality of people regardless of their nationality. And on the principle of hope, essential to any progressive politics.

I am deeply honoured to get acquainted with José Antonio, who was an activist of the opposition under the Pinochet regime. I imagine how much personal courage it required. And I admire that he continues to struggle now for what he struggled then. It is another sort of courage, that we -- Greens, Socialists, Esperantists etc. -- need in our postpolitical era: the courage to care.

Adam Ostolski