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Gazeta Wyborcza sent in the foreign legion today in a lack lustre affair which could hardly be described as a decisive victory. They found a handful of obliging foreign students to complain about Poland. One said that the backup facilities in Poland were much worse than in Portugal, “doubtless because Poland values education very lowly and funds it accordingly.” No, of course that wasn’t printed. She said “doubtless because in Portugal public universities are fee-paying – 900 euros a year.” The newspaper also committed a tactical blunder by admitting in an accompanying interview that some third level colleges (for example, the one from which the interviewer, Piotr Pacewicz, graduated 30 years or so ago) are alright, having introduced paid night courses a few years ago. (I need hardly point out that Pacewicz got his degree for free. I would add that he got it free from the communists - except that it is now a crime in Poland to praise communism.)

After extensive research (one and a half minutes on Google) I have been unable to find the source for “no matter who you vote for the government always wins.” It’s certainly true here in Poland, with local elections just over and a government still firmly in power.

An interesting difference of opinion has come out in the media, though. Today’s super Fakt tabloid says the turn-out was “marna” (miserable, lousy), while Gazeta Wyborcza says excitedly that it was “?wietna” (splendid, excellent). Fakt announced a turn-out of 34%, GW of 45-49%. Piotr Pacewicz, in GW, actually writes

Serce ros?o wraz z rosn?cymi w ci?gu dnia szacunkami frekwencji wyborczej. Na pewno b?dzie o kilka dobrych punkt�w wy?sza ni? w wyborach parlamentarnych 2005, kiedy przestraszyli?my si?, ?e z udzia?em w g?osowaniu b?dzie coraz gorzej.
The heart has swollen along with the increasing turn-out estimates during the day. It [the turn-out, not the heart, presumably] will certainly be a good few points higher than in 2005’s parliamentary elections, when we feared voter participation would be ever worse

Yes, he really wrote that, and he’s a grown man.