|
Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
|
 |
Poland: The end of the peasantry
On the surface, Poland will have just a new government. After slightly more than 2 years of almost complete monopoly over the executive, the conservative catholic right steps down, replaced by moderately conservative/liberal right. This seemingly small change, however, hides deep symbolism. The conservative bloc didn't deliver on its past electoral promises. Its supporters, predominantly small and average peasants, and lower class urban population, abstained during the electoral day. On the other hand, urban middle class and living abroad temporary workers, youth and students, they voted for the change. The most important social fact in Poland during the recent years is the gradual disappearance of the subsistence agriculture that existed for centuries. It's remarkable that even the communist regime in the 1950s decided not to touch this independent peasant population, in complete reversal to the classic Soviet model of peasant expropriation and forced collectivization and industrialization. Thus, in a sense, ever since the 1950s the peasant lobby had strong presence either in or at each and every government in Poland. The future government will be strikingly different in that sense. Balancing between these social interests and the EU demands for rationalization of the agriculture (reducing the number and increasing the size), Warsaw seems ready for the big leap forward. Within the next generation or so, Poland will say farewell to its small peasants. This process already puts a pressure on the land price in some poorer areas. Disappearing peasantry won't be the only thing that will be remembered in Poland under the next government. It will reshape its foreign political orientation too. The EU and Russia will become again good partners (or neighbors); the relations with Washington, at the same time, will suffer a bit. The American lobby in Warsaw suffered from the U.S. visa restrictions that still penalize the Polish citizens. In time when more than a million Poles is looking for temporary jobs abroad in search for survival, this American protectionism cannot be understood, especially in the light of the Polish military participation in the war in Iraq. Last but not least, the new government will likely turn down the public campaign of revealing the names of the former communist secret police informants. Almost 2 decades after the collapse of the communism, Poland, like most other Central and East European nations, is plagued with this issue that poisons the political life. The informants, those which names are still undisclosed, will most likely continue to serve their former masters from behind the curtain. The new government, by imposing the sole logic of economic growth and mass consumption, will relegate to second and third plan all major moral issues.
Poland country profile: --------------------
See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Poland.
|
See also:
