In its latest issue, the weekly “Polityka” touched on the topic of “an army of young people receiving uniform pensions for the rest of their lives”, illustrating it with photos of the wives of the president and the leader of Poland 2050 with the caption “status: pensioner”. The publication caused an emotional reaction from Szymon Hołownia, who published a lengthy post on social media.
“‘Free Media’ is on the attack. Yesterday they started revealing my illnesses, today they are putting my wife on the poster. After almost 19 years of service, in which she literally risked her life, being the first link in the defense of the Republic of Poland during every combat duty. (and therefore also the journalists brazenly trading on her image today) – she took early retirement,” Hołownia wrote.
Shock in Gdynia. He beat the dog with a shovel. He didn’t expect such an ending
He added that his wife joined the Active Reserve program out of a sense of duty.
The politician emphasized the hardships of military service faced by his wife, a fighter pilot, and the entire family. “We, together with Mania and Ela, know well how much she gave to the army. How often – as in many families in uniform – when putting the girls to bed, I heard: ‘And no one will hurt mom?’ Will mom come back?” we read in the entry.
Hołownia drew attention to his wife’s health, which “was left behind in training, flying with murderous overloads”, and the fact that she had to break “glass ceilings” in the army. He noted that the decision to leave the service was dictated by the desire to spend time with his children.
“She is NOT a public figure. Her only fault is that she is my wife. No one called her to ask if they could use her face, name, image,” Hołownia emphasized.
He also stood up for the first lady, who was also on the cover. “Marta Nawrocka did not choose this fate either. Performing the duties of First Lady without remuneration – should she continue to issue tax tickets? I have always and everywhere repeated and followed this rule in campaigns: stay away from politicians’ families, it’s not their fault that we do what we do.“- he said.
Hołownia reacts to a text about depression
Hołownia’s reaction came just a day after another high-profile publication. The “Rzeczpospolita” daily published a text suggesting that the politician was struggling with depression. The article was criticized for violating privacy and was eventually removed from the Internet, and the editors apologized. Hołownia referred to this in his entry.
“I repeat: I understand the tactic – first “hit” a hated politician with depression and then marry his wife. When will it be time to vet our 8- and 4-year-old children?” – he asked rhetorically.
Later in the post, very strong words were spoken against the media associated with the current ruling camp. “When the time comes to come to your senses, yes – PiS had sticky hands and turned the media into a scoundrel, but even he couldn’t hate like the “democratic camp”, its media and clappers. Shame on you, Polityka editorial team“- wrote Hołownia.
He ended his entry with a direct address to his wife: Uleńka, I’m sorry that because of me you have to go through such things at the hands of people whose life and peace you were ready to pay with your blood.
The text of “Rzeczpospolita” mentioned by Hołownia was published on the Day of Combating Depression. The author, citing “independent sources”, wrote about the health problems of the former marshal. Hołownia reacted to this with a statement in which he accused journalist Jacek Nizinkiewicz of “violent outing”.
“The editor, Jacek Nizinkiewicz, decided, without my knowledge or consent, without talking to me, to forcibly “out” me and publicly reveal what I was suffering from, based on rumors he heard about in the city from my “environment”,” Hołownia wrote then.
The politician denied information about depression, emphasizing that he was struggling with “other challenges”, was on the right track and was regaining strength.
“However, I remain of the opinion that the sole holder of information about one’s health condition should always and unconditionally be the patient himself. This is guaranteed by law and common decency,” he emphasized.
