Valruzia

[Aethan]

Nowik children enter politics

Adopted children of the Nowik-Gawrys couple are starting their own careers in the political field

July 5656

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Almost eleven years after the tragic car crash that took the life of Chancellor Szymon Nowik’s sister, her children — Iwan and Klaudia — are stepping into the spotlight, this time as political figures with ambitions of their own.

Both in their twenties and recently graduated — Iwan (25) with a degree in Criminology and Klaudia (23) in Law — the Nowik-Gawryś siblings sat down with us for their first joint interview as public figures, reflecting on their past and sharing their visions for the future.

"Well, I wouldn't say this was planned"

laughs Klaudia Nowik-Gawryś 

"but growing up surrounded by politics, it becomes part of your language, your worldview. It felt natural, like it we were almost destined to it"

Her brother Iwan nods in agreement:

"Dinner conversations at home were often about reforms, strategies, sometimes even diplomacy. We were never pressured to follow that path, but I guess it was inevitable."

Following the tragic loss of their mother, pediatric surgeon Magdalena Nowik, in a massive multi-vehicle crash in Nowogard in July 5645, the two children — then just 14 and 12 — were taken into the care of Chancellor Nowik and his husband, Mateusz Gawryś. Now, more than a decade later, Iwan and Klaudia are forging their own path.

"We cannot say that we were encouraged to do this"

says Iwan.

"In fact, Szymon [Nowik] asked us many times to first finish our university studies before taking any role in Valruzian politics. I think his own experience was the best advice we could ask for, although sometimes — well, he behaves as a father rather than a politician"

. Klaudia laughs in agreement.

Although raised under the same roof, the siblings have taken markedly different ideological paths. Iwan, the older of the two, is making waves within the Communist Party of Valruzia, with ambitions to eventually run for Marshall of the Kampanian Voivodeship — Tobiasz Bernas, the historical leader of the KPW and Marshall of the region the very first elections of 5630, is stepping down and leaving a vacant slot to be filled.

"I believe in deep structural reform"

he says.

"We need to build systems that serve people, not the other way around. Kampania is a place with untapped potential — I want to be part of a new generation that unlocks it. My father knows very well about this decision, and we have grown in an environment of free political thinking, so he has said nothing else but good luck, even giving me some of his own advice".

Sources inside the KPW say he is also being considered for future party leadership, with several veteran members reportedly mentoring him closely.

Klaudia, on the other hand, has chosen a more centrist and pragmatic path by joining Sovereign Valruzia, the party that her stepfather — a word the siblings refuse to use to call Szymon Nowik, instead referring to him as "father" — once helped lead through most part of the young republic.

"My legal education taught me to value institutions, rules, and the need for a functioning state" she explains. "While my brother is driven by ideals, I’m driven by implementation and feasibility. We have had this discussion many times"

adds the younger of the siblings, laughing.

For both, entering the political arena is not about riding on their family's name — though they’re keenly aware of the attention that name draws.

"We carry our mother’s values with us every day"

Klaudia points out.

"She believed in public service, in compassion, and in excellence. Whether in medicine or politics, those things matter".

"We also carry our own beliefs"

 Iwan adds.

"We are not carbon copies of Szymon or Mateusz. They raised us to think independently. We admire them deeply, but we also want to earn our own place. We are aware that our candidacies will draw comparisons, rumors and words behind our backs, but we've grown used to it — when your father is Szymon Nowik, you get used to this kind of attention. But we don't want any position because of who our father is or was, we want to learn and earn it by ourselves. We have grown with this belief, and we will carry it always wherever we go. Szymon Nowik is our father, but we are independent human beings with independent thoughts and beliefs and independent goals in life, and that's what we want people to see when they look at us".

"Both of us agree that our father has transformed for the good our great nation. But there's always something else to be done, and that's what we want to do"

says Klaudia.

And what about the debates between representatives of different political forces? The siblings laugh at the question.

"I can assure you"

says Iwan

"that you will not see more fierce discussions that the ones my sister and I have been having since I have memory of. We disagree on many things, but that's the good thing: we debate about it, we see if we can find common ground, and if not, that's it. That doesn't affect our relationship, since we believe one of the most important things in this life is to be respectful to one another".

With still almost four years until the next elections, the siblings are just starting their own political careers, with the aim of leaving a mark in the nation similar to that one his stepfather and model figure has already left.