Reflections on the Smolensk crash anniversary [THREAD]: An accident that killed 96 people, including President Lech Kaczyński, has inflicted lasting damage on Poland by deepening political rifts in a context of uncanny historical resonance and personal impact on a key leader. 1/

The circumstances of the accident and its chaotic aftermath revealed a cavalier approach to safety procedures and a lack of preparedness in crucial state institutions. As heavy as the actual losses were, the main damage to the country came from later political reactions. 2/

Donald Tusk’s government handled the crisis poorly, placing naive trust in Russian intentions and allowing for mistakes in the treatment of remains. The final Polish investigation rejected some Russian claims (while confirming the main causes), but by then trust had been lost. 3/

Political opponents of Kaczyński also showed pettiness in misjudging the need to properly commemorate a president who died discharging official duties. Whatever his politics, he was head of state, previously minister, senator, state auditor, and important figure in Solidarity. 4/

From the other side, Polish politics was poisoned by Jarosław Kaczyński’s grief – which massively escalated existing political rivalries – and by his inexplicable willingness to exploit, encourage and contribute to conspiracy theories around the accident for political gain. 5/

A circus of PiS-sponsored “investigations” subjected the memory of the victims to ridicule. Led by an eccentric and incompetent PiS MP, a motley crew of non-experts leapt from one wild claim to another, fanning conspiracy theories and consolidating PiS’s hardcore supporters. 6/

Once this show ceased to be politically useful, Kaczyński shut it down (without promised “final answers”). His party has paid no political price for this exploitative performance. The Smolensk issue - once at the centre of Polish politics - almost seems to have gone away. 7/

Yet the deeper scars of Smolensk will not be healed in this political generation, especially when PiS remains a party subject to one man's will (witness party members and even the PM brazenly disregarding COVID-19 procedures to join Kaczyński at a commemoration yesterday). 8/

The question of whether procedural lessons have been learnt remains open. The disregard of safety that caused the accident and the Tusk government’s muddled response both demanded serious review, not a political show. There is nothing to salvage from the wreckage of Smolensk. 9/