Valruzia

[Aethan]

Roksana Parzych, new leader of the KPW: "The hardest part is convincing people who already feel like they have everything"

As the KPW faces disillusionment among its voters in a country that no longer needs saving, can its saviors still stay relevant?

February 5684

Roksana Parzych was elected last week as the new leader of the Communist Party of Valruzia, replacing Iwan Nowik

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When Iwan Nowik officially announced his retirement last year, few imagined that the once-dominant Communist Party of Valruzia for the past few decades would now find itself struggling for political air so soon. Opinion polls have the party hovering near its lowest point in three decades – with the latest last month giving them a mere 32% in what would be their worst result in twenty years –, squeezed between its on-and-off allies in Sovereign Valruzia and a rising Workers' Vanguard on its left flank.

Into this turbulent scene has stepped Roksana Parzych, a 38-year-old steel worker and social activist from Brzansk, long seen as one of the party’s most promising thinkers but rarely part of its inner power circles despite her popularity at a local level – currently serving as mayor of the city since the last elections. A former student activist, Parzych has since been tasked with a monumental challenge after being elected by the party's base with more than 80% of support: to rebuild the credibility of a party many voters now associate with comfort and complacency. And now, she has accepted to hold this interview with us:

Interviewer: Ms. Parzych, thank you for your time and for your election as new leader of the Communist Party of Valruzia. Let's start from there: you took over the leadership at perhaps the most difficult moment for the KPW in decades. Polls are weak, defections are visible, and public enthusiasm seems to have faded. What went wrong?

Roksana Parzych: Success went wrong. [Smiles.] Changes in leadership, especially after long leaderships such as this, are always difficult to navigate. Many people, in many cases without even noticing, tend to turn into personalist supporters, and once that person is gone, tend to look for other figures to do the same. But we gotta be honest here. We created a fairer, more equal society – and in doing so, we made people freer to criticize us. That's the paradox of good governance, isn't it? When you have been fighting for decades to lift people up, you forget that once they're standing, they might walk in a different direction than you would like them to do.

But perhaps the truth is simpler than that, and there's a question we must ask ourselves: have we stopped speaking the language of ordinary people, being too focused on delivering?

I: So you see this crisis not as a betrayal by the voters, but rather as a failure of the party to renew itself, to communicate with the Valruzian population?

R.P: Exactly. We have governed well, excellent I'd even say, but I'm afraid we stopped listening to the people along the way. My generation grew up under the [Szymon and Iwan] Nowik's social reforms – free education, universal housing, dignity at work. We are the children of that era. And it's precisely because of that that we must defend its spirit, not just its numbers.

I: How would you describe that spirit?

R.P: The belief that equality isn't only about income – it's about participation, meaning and voice. For too long, I'm afraid we have told people "don't worry, we'll take care of everything". And to me, if you think calmly about it, that sounds more like paternalism and not true socialism. We need people to see once again what that what we defend is an image of a socialism that trusts people: trust them to make decisions in popular referendums, to run their neighborhoods, to help them organize their workplaces. We must return to that culture of responsibility.

I: Some of your critics, especially during your party primaries, say you are trying to "modernize" the party, but that word often scares KPW's traditional base, more now than ever with the presence of Workers' Vanguard. What does modernization mean to you?

R.P: It doesn't mean surrendering our identity. It means translating it. Our task isn't to change our political soul, but to make it intelligible for the people again. We still believe in collective ownership, social justice, and the dignity of labor – but we must express those ideals in the vocabulary of a new generational Valruzia. If the young hear "socialism" or "communism" and think of bureaucracy instead of solidarity or collective work, then it's us who have failed to teach its meaning, not them who have failed to learn.

I: How do you plan to recover voters lost to Workers' Vanguard and to Sovereign Valruzia, according to the polls?

R.P: Well, first of all, we are talking here about polls [laughs]. The real and only valid test happens on election day. Until then, I always like to be careful about what I read and see, because political opinion is very volatile and adaptable. But to answer your question: I have run a campaign based on being honest about what we've done right – and what we haven't. But we won't do it by attempting to copy others and especially, we won't do it by placing a bullseye on the back of our fellow citizens, like Workers' Vanguard has done with our Yeudi population. And I want to be very clear on that point: Valruzia does not discriminate based on your religion, sexual orientation, gender, or any other thing. Anyone born here, anyone with Valruzian blood is Valruzian. And anyone who wants to come to our nation with the hopes of building a better future and work hand by hand with our citizens is and will always be welcomed with open arms. Of course, we have our ideological lines: for us, we will never support religion – in any form – over the dignity of our citizens, and of course we'd like – and work toward – a society where religion plays no role at all in our daily lives – and the Valruzian society, or at least its majority, find themselves in the same place, according to our research institute. But we work in a positive way, not in a negative one.

And I'm pretty confident that we will win back trust not by shouting louder like others do, but by working harder. I've been serving Brzansk during this legislature as their Mayor and previously as town councillor, and at the same time, I've been traveling every week to smaller towns in Ruzia, talking not just to mayors or union leaders, but to people in bakeries, in farms, in universities. What they want is purpose, a sense that someone still sees them.

I: You speak of purpose, but some say the party's biggest weakness is moral fatigue, that after decades in power, KPW simply lost the ability to inspire. Do you think your party can still be a driving government force?

R.P: It must be. But inspiration doesn't come from empty words, we must preach with the example. We must be as demanding with ourselves as we are with society. That's why I've introduced internal transparency measures, cut privileges for senior officials, and required all party representatives in regional parliaments and the Sejm to dedicate a portion of their salary to community projects.

I: You said during your victory speech that "the next election will mark whether people are grateful to the KPW or hopeful about it". What did you mean by that?

R.P: Every society at some point must decide whether to be grateful to or hopeful with those who have ruled them. I believe gratitude belongs to the past and hope belongs to the future. I don't want people to vote for us because they think they owe us, I want them to vote for us because they believe in us again. I believe that the hardest part is convincing people who already feel like they have everything, even though there's always something to fix.

I: Now, you're stepping in to fill the role once held by Iwan Nowik, a man at the helm of Valruzian politics for nearly two decades. How does it feel to occupy that place?

R.P: To say it's easy would be a lie. Iwan Nowik, as you said, has been a leading figure for our country, and example for everyone to follow and one of the greatest politicians this country has had. But the truth is that we, our party, is much more than a single person. We are a collective of people working towards a common good, and that's bigger than anyone, including Iwan Nowik.

So yes, I do feel the weight, but I'm also hopeful about the future of the party, and I believe my duty now is to make sure the foundations built by Iwan don't transform into walls that trap us in our own comfort and complacency. But also it's important to note: so far, I'm only the leader of the Communist Party of Valruzia. Citizens will have their say.

I: Last question, I promise [both laugh]. The current international situation is anything but smooth. What are your thoughts about that, especially in Seleya but also in Terra in general?

R.P: If you let me, I consider myself a cautious woman. And therefore, I'd wait to see if – and that's a big if – the citizens of Valruzia elect me to be their Chancellor before giving deep and full assessments on international politics, mostly because I want to serve this country, and not international purposes. But as a matter of fact, and regarding the most recent "diplomatic turmoil" with our friends in Kalistan, let me say this: the relationship between our two nations is bigger than single politicians. And therefore, we must continue working towards that.

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Other news in brief:

• Chancellor Klaudia Nowik to meet Kalistani counterpart in Nowogard next month to discuss international affairs, economics and trade.
  
• Government refuses to implement term-limits: "the will of the people must prevail".
  
• FOMAT is heating up: Nowogard, Szary Kamien and Gryfitów among main contenders for host city.