We must “liberate” Poland from “foreign occupying” government, says Kaczyński in Independence Day speech

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński has described Poland’s government as an “occupying power” that represents German and Russian interests in a speech on the eve of Independence Day. He presented the upcoming presidential elections as an opportunity to being “liberating” Poland.

Speaking beneath a statue of Polish independence hero Józef Piłsudski, Kaczyński noted that “106 years ago, the process of regaining independence by our country began”, referring to Poland regaining its sovereignty in 1918 following over a century of partitioned rule by Germany, Austria and Russia.

“Today, unfortunately, we have to fight for a free Poland again,” he continued. “What has been happening over the last year is nothing more than the destruction of our country, the implementation of the agenda of the foreign state of Germany, but also the increasingly visible Russian, Putinist influence in our country.”

💬 Prezes PiS J. Kaczyński: Dziś niestety znów trzeba walczyć o wolną Polskę. To, co dzieje się w ciągu ostatniego prawie już roku, to nic innego jak niszczenie naszego państwa, niszczenie naszej gospodarki, realizacja planów agendy obcego państwa Niemiec, ale także coraz… pic.twitter.com/Isq1Dy0Zo9

— Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (@pisorgpl) November 10, 2024

In December last year, Kaczyński’s national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party was removed from power after eight years in government and replaced by a new, more liberal ruling coalition led by Donald Tusk. Kaczyński has regularly accused the new government of representing foreign interests.

“We have to oppose all of this even if it seems that we have less strength than our opponents because, after all, this has been very often the case in our history; this is also what our path to independence looked like,” said the PiS leader last night.

He did not provide any examples of wrongdoing by the Tusk government, though PiS has regularly accused it of violating the law and repressing its opponents. Kaczyński has gone as far as to liken Tusk to Hitler.

 

Kaczyński presented the campaign for next year’s presidential elections as an opportunity to bolster the struggle for independence. He said that PiS would present its candidate within “a dozen or so” days.

“Today we have a very specific task before us, that is the victory of patriotic forces in the presidential elections,” he declared. “This must be the first step towards the re-liberation of our nation.”

But he warned that winning those elections would “only be the first step” towards “the final victory [of] rejecting once and for all this current government – which can be assessed according to its actions as an external, even occupying power – so that Poland will win”.

“This fight will continue, because only when the patriotic camp takes power for many years will it be possible to achieve our goals,” added Kaczyński.

„Tusk was sent here to liquidate the Polish state” and turn Poland into “an area inhabited by Poles but managed from outside”, says opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński.

He called on his supporters to “take various types of action in defence of Poland” https://t.co/rXv8Q1WABJ

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 9, 2024

Poland’s presidency has been held since 2015 by Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally. His veto powers have prevented the Tusk government from proceeding with much of its agenda since taking office.

Duda’s second and final term ends next year, and PiS are hoping that whoever they put forward as a candidate will be chosen to replace him. If so, that would continue to stymie Tusk’s government during the rest of its term, which runs until 2027.

On Saturday, Tusk announced that his centrist Civic Coalition (KO) would hold a primary election to choose its presidential election candidate, with members having to pick between Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski and foreign minister Radosław Sikorski.

KO’s junior government partners – the centrist Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), centre-right Polish People’s Party (PSL) and The Left (Lewica) – could also put forward candidates. The far-right Confederation (Konfederacja), another opposition party, has chosen Sławomir Mentzen as its nominee.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced that his centrist Civic Coalition will hold primaries to choose a candidate for the 2025 presidential election.

Members will be able to choose between Warsaw mayor @trzaskowski_ and foreign minister @sikorskiradek https://t.co/6ca5lypLcY

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 9, 2024

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.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.