Kaczyński suggests Germany and Russia behind opposition parties now set to take power

In his first public remarks since Law and Justice (PiS) lost its parliamentary majority at last Sunday’s elections, Jarosław Kaczyński, the party’s chairman, has suggested that foreign forces – especially Germany and Russia – are behind the main opposition parties now set to form a new government.

Speaking at a meeting of clubs associated with conservative newspaper Gazeta Polska, Kaczyński admitted that there would now be an “almost certain takeover of power by the opposition”, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

He admitted that this was in part due to “a number of mistakes” made by the national-conservative PiS, though did not enumerate what those mistakes were.

A bigger issue, said Kaczyński, is that “Poland has changed, the structure of the electorate has changed”, and this is something PiS must adapt to if it hopes to “win again in a Poland different than it was some time ago”.

Poles are becoming more socially liberal, with growing support for LGBT rights and access to abortion, finds state research agency CBOS, which suggests this may be a reaction against the policies of the conservative government https://t.co/Z5W1rvZycs

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) August 6, 2021

But also, “a question worth asking” is “what were the deeper causes and mechanisms of the emergence of certain [political] formations?” said the PiS chairman. “To what extent is our public life autonomous from external forces?”

“There are forces at work here all the time that are clearly related to our neighbours, and I am not talking about the Czechs or Slovaks, only about the Germans and Russians,” he continued.

Referring to the largest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), Kaczyński said that “the sources of its creation are quite obvious and verified by [it following] a policy that was obviously in line with German interests”.

An opposition victory at this year’s elections „can mean only one thing: the end of Poland”, warns Jarosław Kaczyński.

He says foreign, and especially German, forces are seeking to hinder Poland’s development with the help of Polish collaborators https://t.co/Zm8ub0KfxN

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 27, 2023

He then turned to Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), a movement that was formed by TV presenter-turned-politician Szymon Hołownia in the wake of his third place finish in the 2020 presidential elections. Poland 2050 was half of the Third Way (Trzecia Droga) coalition that also finished third in last Sunday’s elections.

“Was the creation of Poland 2050 the result of a certain TV presenter coming up with such an idea?” asked Kaczyński “Or maybe something deeper?”

“I think that the reasons are deeper and that it is the other side [i.e. Russia] looking for some kind of reliable tool and still hoping that the currently established political system, which is not the most convenient for it, could be made to become what Moscow believes it should be,” he continued.

Cudzoziemscy tajni agenci stworzyli partię Szymona Hołowni? Czesi mogą spać spokojnie. Kaczyński z nową teorią spiskową: „cały czas działają siły, które są związane z naszymi sąsiadami. Nie mówię tu o Czechach, czy Słowakach, tylko Niemcach i Rosjanach” https://t.co/aZe2TyCrPs

— Bertold Kittel (@Bertold_K) October 21, 2023

Kaczyński gave no evidence as to why Russia could be standing behind Poland 2050. He did mention “generals”, which was likely a reference, among others, to General Mirosław Różański, one of Poland 2050’s newly elected senators.

Różański began his military service in the 1980s, when Poland was under Soviet-backed communist rule. He later became general commander of the Polish armed forces in 2015. PiS figures, including former defence minister Antoni Macierewicz, have accused him of favouring Russian interests.

In his remarks yesterday, Kaczyński declared that the elections show “we are dealing with a certain game of external forces that very efficiently use formations that operate in Poland and, of course, present themselves as Polish, present themselves as patriotic”.

However, “when it comes to their actions, you all know how it was, is and what it will probably be like in the next four years”, he continued. PiS and Kaczyński have regularly accused the opposition of representing foreign, rather than Polish, interests.

Donald Tusk will travel to Brussels for talks on unblocking EU funds that have been frozen over rule-of-law concerns under the current government.

Tusk hopes to lead a new government after Sunday’s elections gave the opposition a combined majority https://t.co/jtHv3hBsZj

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 20, 2023

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Main image credit: KPRM (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.