Tusk warns Polish opposition: 'You too will fall victim to this wave' as Sejm debate turns to origin and identity
Prime Minister Donald Tusk delivered an impassioned speech in the Sejm on Wednesday, accusing right-wing opposition leaders of fueling a dangerous wave of xenophobia that could ultimately consume them as well.
A heated parliamentary session
Prime Minister Donald Tusk used a debate on a no-confidence motion against Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński to address what he described as a growing and dangerous trend in Polish public discourse. Speaking from the parliamentary podium on Wednesday, Tusk warned that isolated insults and media provocations were coalescing into a broader movement targeting people based on their origin, race, or skin colour.
Things are happening, words are being spoken, ideas are emerging that are a humiliation for every patriot. Words spoken in this chamber, in the media, in public debates, increasingly show that from single incidents, single insults, single media outbursts, a wave is beginning to form.
Tusk argued that this wave not only humiliates decent, honest, patriotic Poles but is becoming dangerous from the point of view of the essence of the Republic.
The trigger: criticism of a deputy minister
The immediate catalyst was Tuesday's opposition attacks on Deputy Science Minister Andrzej Szeptycki. Szeptycki had described members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) as "a bit like Ukrainian indomitable soldiers." PiS politicians reacted furiously. Former Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek called the government "parasites and traitors of the Polish nation" and demanded a meeting of the Council of Seniors to explain "why there are still Ukrainians in this government insulting Poles." Former PiS MP Janusz Kowalski announced a parliamentary inquiry into the "Ukrainisation of public administration."
Tusk suggested the criticism of Szeptycki was driven by the minister's Ukrainian origin rather than the substance of his remarks. Opposition MPs countered during the speech that their objection was to what Szeptycki said, not where he came from.
Historical parallels and a 'brown landscape'
The prime minister drew explicit historical parallels, referencing a "hunt" witnessed in Europe repeatedly over the last 150 years, which he said typically ended in catastrophe, including the Second World War. He quoted a journalist who had asked how it was possible that a person of Ukrainian origin serves as a deputy minister in the Polish government.
I remember words about Jews, about Germans, and now above all about people of Ukrainian origin. It is coming together into one, increasingly disturbing whole. No one can remain indifferent to what we are hearing more and more often, no longer from the mouths of political hooligans, but from the mouths of political leaders of the opposition.
Tusk warned that such words would embolden larger groups to sow xenophobia and contempt for people of other views and origins. He told opposition MPs that if they continued their march toward a "brown political landscape," they too would eventually be scrutinised for their ancestry.
A direct warning to the right
Addressing the right-wing benches directly, Tusk said those currently driving the wave of hostility toward outsiders would themselves become its victims if they did not stop. He cited Czarnek's remarks verbatim, noting the PiS leadership candidate had called political opponents "parasites" and "traitors of the Polish nation."
Today you are fueling this wave, but you yourselves will fall victim to this wave if you do not stop. Come to your senses, stop!
The speech came during a vote on the no-confidence motion against Kierwiński, but Tusk devoted the bulk of his remarks to the broader climate of public debate, calling the current discourse a humiliation for every patriot.
