This is how Slovaks see Poland. “Czechs are definitely no longer a better country than you”
— I was born in Czechoslovakia, I live in Slovakia and for many years I was a frequent guest in Poland, says Peter Dzurilla, a lawyer living in the city of Vysoké Tatry, and in the past Polish correspondent of the Slovak television JOJ. In his opinion, both countries are very similar in many respects.
— There is a popular saying in Poland: “Pole, Hungarian, two nephews…”. And I like them very much too. However, I know that it does not refer to Hungarians at all Dzurilla smiles. — It concerns us Slovaks. This saying originated several hundred years ago, when Slovakia was “upper Hungary” within the Kingdom of Hungary, and later a Hungarian province within Austria-Hungary. The Poles and the Hungarians certainly liked each other, but it couldn't be a… mass friendship. Mainly because of the language. How many Poles understand Hungarian and how many Hungarians speak Polish? Not much. And with Slovaks, Poles simply understood each other.
As Peter says, the Slovak language is understandable to Poles and vice versa. Our interlocutor admits that he sometimes watches fragments of speeches by Polish stand-up comedians on social media and notes that several of them have jokes in their programs about how difficult it is for Poles to understand Czechs or Slovaks.
— With all due respect, that's not true. In my opinion, and I do not consider myself exceptionally talented in this aspect, the Polish, Slovak, Czech and Croatian languages are so similar to each other that if you speak slowly and focus on the answers, you will understand enough that the conversation will be relatively comfortable for both parties. There were even attempts to create a universal language for the Slavs from our part of Europe and they showed that an appropriate mix of words from these three or four languages produced an effect. Every nation understood, says Dzurilla.
Poland? It's a happy country, happy people!
The former journalist visited Poland hundreds of times as part of his work in front of the camera. He talked to our compatriots and observed a lot. He has also visited the Czech Republic many times, so he has similar knowledge about the inhabitants of this country.
— Of the three countries mentioned, all of them started 35 years ago from the position of a post-Soviet society that was just aspiring and learning how to be a democratic Western European society. The Czechs were closest to this. At that time, they were also much better developed than us and Poles. However, over the years, in my opinion, they have lost their leadership position. Today, Poland is ahead of the Czech Republic or ex aequo with them. Certainly the Czechs are no longer a better country than you – says our interlocutor.
In his opinion, Poland has made a huge development leap in recent years. Dzurilla sees this in many ways, but the clearest example is here Polish network of highways and expressways.
This increases by up to several hundred kilometers every year. — You have two highways completely ready. One from north to south and the other from west to east. The next ones are nearing completion. And for the last 30 years we have not been able to even finish the highway from Bratislava to Kosicethe second largest city in our country. That is why many Slovaks envy you this progress.
According to the Slovak lawyer, the ability to build roads faster is not the only thing that he would like to transfer from Poland to the Danube.
— Even in summer, when you go to Poprad, Kežmarok and many other larger and smaller cities, they are simply empty in the evenings. People are staying at home. And there is evening life in your cities. People go out, meet, enjoy life. In general, you are a much happier society today than Slovaks. Poles say about themselves that they like to complain, but in my opinion it is not that visible – explains Peter.
Slovak problems: prices, youth elopement
According to a former Slovak journalist, his nation is almost entirely in bad shape today.
According to Peter Dzurilla, the economy is also hitting Slovaks very hard. He himself admits that today he can go to both Poland and the Czech Republic and will shop there cheaper than in his homeland. It's also cheaper to refuel from both neighbors. In his opinion, this is the fault of the wrong policies of the people ruling Slovakia, including several different political options.
— In Slovakia, taxes are rising, prices are rising, and wages are not growing as fast as in Poland. Our country does not offer social policy as efficient as yours. In my opinion, this last aspect works in Poland. Of course, many people will also say that it is more expensive for us Slovaks because we have the euro and Czechs and Poles do not. In my opinion, however, this is not a key aspect affecting our problems. The euro has been in use in Slovakia for almost 20 years (the community currency replaced the Slovak koruna on January 1, 2009 – ed.). After its introduction, prices actually increased and we as a nation have come to terms with it and accepted it. But the fact that today it is more expensive in Slovakia than in neighboring countries has little to do with the currency. Moreover, the euro gives the Slovak economy a specific drive and attracts investments, for example from the automotive industry, he says.
According to Peter Dzurilla, a very big problem for his country is the fact that the number of young people leaving Slovakia has recently been increasing. Young Slovaks, for example, go to study in Prague, Czech Republic, and after finishing their studies they stay in this country because they think it is a better place to live.
They believe that Poland can be a power
— From my observations, Poland does not have this problem. However, it has relatively good future prospects for both society and its position in the international arena. You have the potential to be a truly “important player”. However, for this to happen, your political class must learn do business and focus less on “historical resentments” – says the former journalist.
— I remember going to Poland for various reports a few years ago, and sometimes the issue of Smolensk, the Soviet Union and Germany came up in the conversation. There was a lot of settling history in these conversations, and little of simply wanting to do business with both the East and the West. And Poland can really become rich from these interests. I understand the need for justice and accountability, but we live here and now you can't live in trauma from the past all the time – adds Peter Dzurilla.
— Does this mean that we should reach an agreement with Putin today?
– NO. What Putin did by attacking Ukraine is a crime. We should never forgive him for this. But one day the government will change in Russia or Belarus, he replies.
According to our interlocutor, for the same reasons, Slovak society today must understand that Bratislava cannot continue to buy gas from Russiai. Peter Dzurilla understands that this is the maximum sacrifice, because Slovakia is on gas. In the 1970s, a very dense network of gas pipelines was built in Slovakia, and today this fuel reaches even the smallest villages and private houses located there.
– It was nice because energy was cheap and thanks to that we didn't have the big Polish problem of smog in recent years – says Peter. — Our air was and is much cleaner. But today we must quickly look for new sources of gas supplies. This is a short-term measure. In the long term, just like Poland, we face the need to change our national energy mix. In Slovakia, there is talk of building another nuclear power plant in the country (near Kosice) or a very extensive focus on huge geothermal sources that exist under almost all of Slovakia. The direction in which our country will go will largely be decided not by the government in Bratislava, but by what funding the European Commission will provide us with.
This is what I'm proud of…
Finally, our interlocutor lists what Slovakia can be proud of today. In his opinion, it is a really great tourist base, including wonderful ski complexes in both the High and Low Tatras, as well as numerous modern complexes with geothermal pools.
— There is a thriving company in Slovakia Tatry Mountain Resort – says Peter Dziurilla. — It is truly a tycoon on the tourist services market throughout Europe. The company has ski resorts, luxury hotels, swimming pools and an amusement park not only in Slovakia, but also in Poland (Szczyrk and Chorzów), the Czech Republic (two resorts in the Sudetes) and Austria (two resorts in the Alps).
— I am also proud of our society for how beautifully it moved to help Ukrainians fleeing the war. There was a problem with this in Hungary, and Slovakia, like Poland, opened its borders to these people and helped them a lot. Today, many Ukrainians have filled gaps in our labor market, so we also took advantage of it, says the lawyer.
– And you are not proud of your public transport system – I ask. — In Poland, it is sometimes impossible to leave many villages because no bus goes there, and when it does, it is only a few a day and at inconvenient hours. Meanwhile, when I am in Slovakia, I see that comfortable buses with a very convenient schedule often reach every village here. – he adds.
— Yes, it's nice that people have such an alternative. It is actually our success that we have this communication, says Peter Dzurilla. — On the other hand, I think that we must have these buses because there are still a lot of poor people in our country. They cannot afford to buy and maintain a car and buy fuel for it. We don't see 2-3 cars in front of our houses, but in Poland it's a common sight – he concludes.
