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I do not know whether the reconstruction of the government is still ahead of us or behind us. However, it is difficult to leave the dismissal of the health minister without comment. In the first months of fighting the coronavirus, Minister Szumowski gained enormous popularity and trust. The restrictions on social life that he and his ministerial team introduced were difficult, but the majority of society considered them necessary. This credit of confidence was considerable, also among opposition politicians and voters.
The United Right has repeatedly awarded Minister Szumowski for his hard work. PiS politicians emphasized that it is thanks to these decisions that Poland manages to lead Poland safely through the pandemic. The public believed in the minister’s assurances that it was going for good, and the elections in the summer could be held relatively safely. Before the presidential election, there were even rumors that Szumowski, with his social trust, would replace Andrzej Duda and win the election in the first round. And suddenly – the minister disappears. If the strategy of fighting the coronavirus adopted by Szumowski works, why is the winning squad of the Ministry of Health leaving the field?
In a few days, the holidays will end and the children will return to school. Are we prepared for the second wave of disease, which, as everything indicates, is just around the corner? It can be doubted. MP Marcelina Zawisza alerted in July that health care was not ready for the autumn increase in the number of cases. The ministry is constantly ensuring that the work is in progress. But a credible plan was not presented. The decision of Minister Szumowski, unfortunately, rhymes well with this. He suggests that either there is no plan or the minister does not want to take responsibility for it.
It is hard for me to believe the explanation that this is a planned change of guard. The moment to start the personnel carousel in the ministry is really bad. The current head of the National Health Fund is obviously not a man from nowhere, but it will take some time for him and his team to take on new responsibilities. This time, all indications are, is gone. The number of poviats glowing red on the map of Poland is growing, as is the number of cases. So far, we have not overloaded the health care system, but the alarm lights gradually come on.
So the prime minister announced that nothing had happened. Minister Szumowski got into the lifeboat and left. The ship continues on. Hopefully not an iceberg.
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