Sławomir Mentzen faces parliamentary ethics complaint over remarks on female officers

Parliamentary ethics motion

Polish lawmaker Magdalena Sroka of the Polish People's Party (PSL) submitted a formal motion to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee against Confederation party co-leader Sławomir Mentzen on 6 October 2026. Sroka, a former police officer who concluded her law enforcement career before entering parliament, announced the filing during proceedings in the Sejm before expanding on her decision on TVN24. She asked the ethics panel to penalize Mentzen to establish a clear standard regarding public remarks about women in uniform. Sroka argued that respect for the uniform of police officers, soldiers, and border guards carries particular weight during the ongoing war across Poland's eastern border.

I submitted a motion to the parliamentary ethics committee today. I hope the committee penalizes Sławomir Mentzen by example for his words directed at women.

Video remarks on female recruits

The disciplinary action follows an online video published by Mentzen on the social media platform X. In the recording, the Confederation politician displayed photographs of newly accepted female recruits assigned to the Lower Silesian regional police force. Mentzen accompanied the images with sarcastic remarks about regional crime deterrence, explicitly citing foreign crime groups and combat veterans. Rather than apologizing following public criticism, Mentzen published a subsequent video arguing that male personnel in the Polish police face systemic discrimination compared to their female colleagues.

Over 150 new police officers joined the Lower Silesian police. I immediately feel safer. Georgian gangs, Ukrainian veterans straight from the front are already trembling with fear. Organized crime will not recover after something like this.

Clashes over military uniforms

The dispute broadened into military policy after Deputy Minister of National Defence Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka announced the introduction of uniform cuts tailored specifically for female soldiers in the Polish Armed Forces. Mentzen mocked the development online, questioning the nature of warfare involving women and asking where women match men in military service. Sobkowiak-Czarnecka responded to the post by stating that his focus on female service members had turned into an obsession. Minister of the Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński also condemned the remarks, contrasting the dedication of female officers with Mentzen's conduct.

What does a war dedicated to women look like? In what kind of war do women perform like men? When and where was such a war fought?

Fitness challenge and service data

Following Mentzen's statements, Sroka challenged the Confederation leader to undergo the official physical fitness assessment administered to female candidates entering the police force. The evaluation measures running, direction changes, strength, agility, and overall endurance under standard testing conditions. Sroka stressed that street interventions require diverse skills rather than raw physical bulk, noting that neither gender possesses an absolute advantage in every operational situation.

Official data published by the General Police Headquarters shows the distribution of female personnel across various police branches in Poland. The service records 12 female officers serving in specialized counter-terrorist units. In other divisions, female representation includes more than 12,500 officers in the prevention service, over 8,700 in the criminal division, and almost 1,400 working in auxiliary support roles.