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Poles are privately optimistic but publicly pessimistic, survey finds

A survey shows half of Poles believe things are going badly in the country, yet two-thirds report satisfaction with their personal lives — a gap sociologist Marcin Duma calls "public pessimism." He argues fear-based narratives dominate Polish public discourse, amplifying collective anxiety beyond lived experience. Duma notes that Donald Tusk in 2023 exploited this mood, positioning himself as a cure-all for societal ills.