When the state legalizes online deception and the media scrutinizes the pensions of politicians' wives, the boundary between the public and private spheres ceases to exist. Authenticity has become a scarce commodity, as leaders from Manchester to Baden-Württemberg are painfully discovering.
Red Line in the Crosshairs. Modern politics devours privacy with an appetite that would make a regular at a French delicatessen blush. The last 48 hours in Poland brought an unprecedented unification of two feuding camps around the defense of their loved ones. Szymon Hołownia and Karol Nawrocki, usually political antagonists, jointly drew a „red line” following a publication by the „Polityka” weekly.
The article by Joanna Solska, illustrated with photos of Marta Nawrocka and Urszula Brzezińska-Hołownia, hit a sensitive spot: the pension system for uniformed services. The text juxtaposed the wives' ages with their retirement status, which Szymon Hołownia described as an „extremely disgusting move”. The Speaker of the Sejm reminded that his wife piloted MiG-29 fighter jets for 19 years, risking her life for the country.
„Wstydźcie się. Uleńko, przepraszam, że z mojego powodu musisz przez to przechodzić. Wara od naszych żon i bliskich.” (Shame on you. Uleńka, I am sorry that you have to go through this because of me. Hands off our wives and loved ones.) — Szymon Hołownia
On the other side of the barricade, Karol Nawrocki pointed to his wife's twenty-year service in special units and the Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa. The President of the IPN stated that „the Lord God should forgive” the authors of the publication. Although the system costs the budget 30 billion PLN annually—an economic fact—the debate instantly shifted from macroeconomics to the level of journalistic ethics and family protection.
30 billion PLN — annual cost of the uniformed services pension system in PolandThe Authenticity Trap. While the battle over family privacy boundaries continues in Poland, in Germany, Andreas Stoch fell into his own image trap. The SPD candidate in Baden-Württemberg visited a Tafel facility in Bühl, only to be recorded moments later discussing shopping at a French butcher shop. The contrast between a food bank and a discussion about exquisite pâté proved lethal.
Social media did not forgive the cognitive dissonance. The politician later explained to „Badische Neueste Nachrichten” journalists that it was about liver pâté (Leberwurst) rather than luxury duck, but the damage was done. Just days before the elections scheduled for March 8, the Social Democratic leader became a symbol of being out of touch with the reality he supposedly represents.
„Ich bin da in einen Fettnapf marschiert” (I marched right into a trap/blunder there.) — Andreas Stoch
The authenticity problem also affects the UK Prime Minister. Keir Starmer had to personally intervene in Manchester, in the Longsight and Levenshulme districts. In the rain, he fought for votes for Angeliki Stogia in the Gorton and Denton constituency, which has historically been a Labour bastion. The threat from the Green Party and Reform UK shows that even „labor movement traditions” are not enough when voters sense falsehood or leader weakness.The Masked State. The paradox of modern politics is that absolute transparency is demanded of individuals, while the state reserves the right to deceive. The German federal government has officially sanctioned the creation of fake social media accounts by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). Interior Minister Nancy Faeser defends this method as necessary in the fight against extremism.
MP Martina Renner of the Die Linke party rightly notes that impersonating journalists or activists undermines trust in the digital space. The services operate in a gray area, violating platform terms of service, which the government deems „proportionate”. We thus have a situation where the wife of a Polish politician must account for a legal pension, while a German agent can legally lie about their identity.
At the same time in Spain, Isabel Díaz Ayuso is demonstrating how to brutally manage an intra-party crisis. Following the resignation of Education Minister Emilio Viciana, the President of Madrid is carrying out a purge within the People's Party (PP) structures. The elimination of the „Los Pocholos” group and the appointment of loyalists like Alfonso Serrano is proof that when authority is threatened, „reorganization” becomes a euphemism for the consolidation of power.
The Labour Party in the UK has dominated Manchester since the Industrial Revolution, much like Madrid has been a bastion of the Spanish right since the democratic transition. Both examples show that historical political strongholds are not guaranteed forever and require constant cultivation in the face of new populist movements.
The image crises of Stoch, Starmer, or the dispute over the wives of Polish leaders share one common denominator: a loss of control over the narrative. In the age of digital transparency, any pâté can become a symbol of betrayed ideals, and any pension—proof of privilege. Meanwhile, as the German example shows, the state is arming itself with disinformation tools, creating an asymmetry where the citizen is naked and the system is masked.
Ultimately, politics is becoming a theater where the actors forget their lines. Keir Starmer gets soaked in the rain to prove he cares about Manchester. Isabel Díaz Ayuso cuts through structures to prove she controls Madrid. And the voter? The voter is left wondering whether the greater threat is a retired fighter pilot or an intelligence agent pretending to be their friend on Facebook.
Perspektywy mediów: The left-wing perspective (e.g., The Guardian, Die Linke) focuses on the hypocrisy of those in power (Stoch), threats to freedom of speech from security services (BfV), and the right to privacy, provided it does not concern public finances. The right-wing perspective (e.g., Reform UK, conservative media in Poland) emphasizes the disconnect between elites and reality, while simultaneously defending traditional family values and the necessity of a strong state in the sphere of security.