The Government in Warsaw is showing that it has no restraint in exploiting the fear of uncontrolled immigration, as well as turning the anti-German complex and an anti-European grudge into lethal weapons against the opposition in order to retain power.
Having just returned from Brussels, where together with the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, he tried to veto the migration pact of the European Union, the head of the Polish Government, Mateusz Morawiecki, resorted to arguments of unusual brutality on Saturday to invade the EU and, in particular, Germany.
“From the east we have the Wagner Group and, from the west, the Weber Group,” Morawiecki said at a rally, referring to the Russian paramilitaries and the president of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, whom he called a “shameless German”.
“We will fight against the political violence of the Weber Group. That is why I have rejected the decree on the new directive that aims to impose on us the mandatory relocation of immigrants”, he stated. Beyond missing the truth about the migration pact, which does not establish a forced reception of immigrants, but a mandatory solidarity between countries that are willing to receive immigrants and those that are not, the head of government wanted to point out Germany as the main guilty of genuine aggression against Poland.
But when he compares the Russian military mercenary troop, recruited from common criminal prisoners to fight in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Syria, with the European Parliament’s liberal right-wing political family, the Polish prime minister seems to scorn the terms of an acceptable controversy within the EU. And it makes it clear that the Polish Government, increasingly authoritarian, aims to incite public opinion against Germany, which for some time it describes with increasing malice as the main enemy that supposedly intends to turn Poland into its colony or, at least, install in Warsaw a government of his own accord.
Citing an interview of Weber in a German newspaper in which the politician claimed that the People’s Group in the European Parliament “should constitute the main bulwark against the nationalist government in Warsaw to help Poland return to Europe,” Morawiecki said: ” This German district has no shame. How does the chancellor not have it when he claims that in European migration policy, Poland should ease the burden on Germany. Should we lighten the load on Germany? Conscience is what will weigh less on the Germans, but only when they end up paying reparations for the horrific crimes they committed [in World War II].”
The leader of the nationalists, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who a few weeks ago rejoined the Executive as the only vice president, has already announced that the Government will call a referendum on the issue of immigration to coincide with the parliamentary elections scheduled for October By stoking and exploiting Poles’ fear of uncontrolled immigration, the Government hopes to gather the votes it lacks today to win the elections and retain power.
Donald Tusk, the main figure of the opposition, has denounced the Government’s hypocrisy. “Why does the Government attack people against immigrants and foreigners and at the same time favor the arrival last year of around 130,000 immigrants from countries such as Saudi Arabia, India, Iran, Qatar, the Arab Emirates and Nigeria, who are you giving express work permits to?” Tusk asked on Twitter. “Perhaps Kaczynski needs an internal war, to stir up a conflict and the fear of the citizens, because that way it is easier to govern and he hopes to win the elections”.
According to several polls, the opposition forces now have an advantage over the right-wing of Law and Justice, whose only hope of retaining power would be to ally with the far-right Confederation, now in opposition.
