Tusk invites Nawrocki to share the Christmas wafer in Sopot after Kraków shooting

Speech in Szczecin

Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday, 11 November, during the christening and flag-raising on the ferry "Bursztyn Unity" at Wały Chrobrego in Szczecin. He did not attend the events in Warsaw, and his speech marked the 108th anniversary of Poland regaining independence. Tusk said the nation's history held joyful days and hard ones, times of peace and times of struggle, but that on 11 November every heart is white and red. He put the core message of the day in one sentence:

“Everyone without exception, regardless of views, origin or faith, is responsible for making sure Poland is forever strong, safe, free and independent.”

The speech stressed that freedom, independence and security require constant effort from every citizen, not a one-time achievement.

The Kraków shooting

Tusk tied the holiday to the shooting in Kraków on Saturday, 7 November, which took place in the city centre. Rzeczpospolita reported six people killed and sixteen injured, while Gazeta Prawna described the number of wounded in its account of the speech only as roughly a dozen or more. The shooter was wounded and detained by police, and mourning in Kraków runs until 11 November. Tusk said the tragic days in Kraków show that what was won with such effort, namely freedom, independence and the safety of families, cannot be guaranteed once and for all.

He also praised the police officers who responded, saying the government would do everything to keep Poland the safest place in Europe. Tusk told the audience that no Pole should ever raise a hand against another Pole, a plea he framed as a duty shared by everyone regardless of political views.

Appeal for unity and the invitation

Tusk invoked Józef Piłsudski's view that whatever threatens freedom should be pushed as far as possible from Poland's borders, and warned that the threat can also lurk inside them. He said Poland is now the twentieth largest economy in the world and is building the largest army in the region, "not to attack anyone" but to defend its home. Tusk said he and the president were supposed to meet, that he had waited for an invitation from Nawrocki, and that he would therefore extend his own without waiting any longer. He invited the president, his wife, family and children to his home in Sopot to share the Christmas Eve wafer.

“Let us share the Christmas wafer before Christmas Eve and talk. My flat is small, but there is room for the two of us at the kitchen table.”

The invitation was the most personal part of the address, and it was delivered in a speech that otherwise focused on national security and the Independence Day anniversary.

Warnings of bloodshed and reconciliation

Tusk said that some unnecessary words had been spoken, asked everyone to take them to heart regardless of political views, and did not name their author. Niezależna reported that his remarks most likely referred to a speech by Jarosław Kaczyński, in which Kaczyński warned of a possible bloodshed in Poland. Tusk's call to avoid violence was blunt, as the following line shows:

“Let there never be bloodshed in Poland.”

He also addressed people taking part in the Warsaw Independence March that day, acknowledging that some find reconciliation difficult while saying political rivals can still coexist. According to Rzeczpospolita, Tusk said that whatever their views, everyone who has Poland in their heart must understand that the Republic is a common good. He closed by urging Poles to extend their own hands to one another on 11 November.