Calling the independent Kanał Zero a “political party” by Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz reveals the government’s helplessness and the deep crisis of Polish democracy, in which simply holding those in power accountable is treated as hostile opposition activity. It is worth listening to Miłosz Lodowski’s podcast!
What did Sienkiewicz say about Stanowski, and what did they “fail to do”?
Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz said in a radio interview that a new political force had emerged in Poland – the “Kanał Zero party” / the “Stanowski party” – which brings the entire opposition camp together, and that it is now this force that government politicians are running up against, rather than traditional party leaders.
The rest of the article continues below the video.
In the same statement, Sienkiewicz used the key words: “we failed to do it.” He was referring to the first six months after the 2023 election, when – according to Sienkiewicz’s assessment – society gave those in power tacit approval, essentially saying:
“take care of it, maybe it won’t be pretty, we’ll look away for a while, but take care of it so it doesn’t come back.”
By speaking of failure, Sienkiewicz acknowledged that they had failed to fully close down the media-political system.
Miłosz Lodowski responds to these words with an uncompromising commentary:
“We failed to do it – what exactly did you bastards fail to do? What did you fail to do? What exactly was supposed to be taken care of? What did you imagine Polish democracy would look like after you took over?”
Lodowski asks directly why, after years in power, the example of a force preventing the full consolidation of this system has become a private online media outlet.
Stanowski is not the “savior of democracy”, but treating him as an enemy says everything about the state of the country
As Lodowski emphasizes, Krzysztof Stanowski is no savior of Polish democracy, and Kanał Zero is far from being a perfect media outlet. Stanowski is a former sports journalist and entrepreneur who, step by step – from the Weszło website, through Weszło FM radio and Kanał Sportowy, to Kanał Zero – built his own media business.
Yet the very fact that Sienkiewicz – a man from the highest levels of the state apparatus and security services – casts a sports journalist as the main political enemy says everything about the disastrous condition of Polish democracy. It shows that those in power treat any independent scrutiny of their actions as hostile opposition activity. When those in power encounter a decentralized internet and find that they cannot shut down a media outlet with a single phone call, they fall into systemic fear.
What has Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz been known for in the past?
Sienkiewicz’s role in this story is no coincidence – he is a figure associated with the hard state apparatus and the intersection of government and intelligence services. Starting in 1990, he was one of the founders of the State Protection Office (UOP), served as a lieutenant colonel, and worked as an analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies.
As Minister of the Interior and coordinator of the intelligence services, he became one of the central figures in recordings made at the “Sowa & Przyjaciele” restaurant. His conversation with NBP Governor Marek Belka about political support for the budget sparked public outrage because of its vulgar language and its depiction of a “theoretical state.” He also became known for threatening football supporters (“We’re coming for you.”).
Finally, as the then culture minister, citing a resolution of the Sejm, he dismissed the management of TVP, Polish Radio, and PAP, cut the TVP Info signal, and placed the companies into liquidation. These actions, summed up by his famous phrase “the steamroller does not negotiate with the asphalt,” triggered widespread accusations of violating the Constitution and the law. Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz was also criticized over multimillion-zloty consulting contracts with state-owned companies, including Orlen between 2003 and 2013.
What do Sienkiewicz’s words, spoken in the presence of silent journalists, tell us?
Sienkiewicz presented his “Stanowski party” thesis in a radio studio, without any critical response from the journalists hosting the program.
This silence is evidence of the degradation of traditional journalism. Mainstream journalists, instead of acting as “gatekeepers” and holding those in power accountable, have become passive observers or even participants in the political game on one side. This is precisely why millions of viewers and readers have turned away from established newsrooms in favor of online creators, where they look for authenticity and an uncompromising willingness to scrutinize those in power.
Polish democracy “rots” when those in power treat freedom of speech and a free media market as a threat to their monopoly, while state institutions attempt to build an airtight “information dome” protecting them from criticism.
The main conclusion from Miłosz Lodowski’s analysis, however, is encouraging: the system can no longer be closed down as easily as it could 20 years ago. Thanks to technology, smartphones, and the decentralized internet, no minister or colonel can silence criticism with a single move. This is not about singing the praises of Krzysztof Stanowski, but about defending the mechanism that allows new independent voices to emerge – from the left, the right, or outside politics altogether – voices that no government can simply switch off.