Poland: row over arrest of PiS politicians escalates
The power struggle between the former and current government camps has come to a head in Poland. President Andrzej Duda has spoken out against the imprisonment of former interior minister Mariusz Kamiński and his state secretary Maciej Wąsik for abuse of office. Duda continues to insist that his 2015 pardon, which was overturned by the Supreme Court, is legally binding. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has accused the president of sabotage.
Polarisation benefits both camps
Rzeczpospolita sees an ominous dynamic:
“Jarosław Kaczyński is building a political myth and encouraging supporters to protest. ... The same game is being played by President Andrzej Duda, who, instead of seeking a legal solution so that Wąsik and Kamiński can leave prison, prefers to express his 'deep shock' over their being arrested at the presidential palace and inform the international public that there are 'political prisoners' in Poland. ... By relying on polarisation, Donald Tusk is also winning: not only is he fulfilling the expectations of his voters, he is also pushing the [centrist party] Trzecia Droga, which is relying on depolarisation, to the sidelines. But is this escalation spiral good for Poland?”
Insulting for the politically persecuted
Gazeta Wyborcza takes issue with the two politicians being described as "political prisoners" by their supporters:
“The fact that the convicts are politicians and that the sentences were passed at a time when their party was in the opposition does not make them political prisoners. ... The very use of the term in connection with Kamiński and Wąsik is an insult to the thousands of people who have been imprisoned, tortured and killed in terrible prisons simply because they opposed the regimes in their countries. There are also people behind bars in Belarus and Russia whom we know personally, including Andrzej Poczobut.”
Pre-1991 methods
Magyar Nemzet, which is affiliated with the Orbán government, claims that Tusk is in cahoots with the US Democrats:
“Within 24 hours Poland has reverted to the times of the one-party state in which anyone those in power don't like is simply dragged away, like the supporters of Solidarność back then. ... Or they act as if the president of the Republic, with all his powers, didn't even exist. It is also worth looking at who is encouraging Donald Tusk. ... Behind him are the US Democrats, with all their clout.”
A huge provocation
The PiS is wrongly portraying itself as the helpless victim of the new government, the Tages-Anzeiger criticises:
“Of course this is all a big provocation. ... The PiS is busy spreading the myth that it is a politically persecuted party that is being suppressed by the tyrant Tusk. It deliberately makes no distinction between the state, the government, the courts, the police - they're all one, all the enemy. ... The PiS politicians were obsessed with their own power and now seem shocked that the courts are still functioning so well and becoming dangerous to them.”
A national crisis looms
The drama over the arrests could escalate, says Die Welt, the case is not closed with the arrests:
“As two members of parliament are now missing, the PiS could now deny the entire legitimacy of the Sejm. Szymon Holownia, the Marshall of the Sejm, has suspended the first sessions due to the crisis, even though the budget for the current year urgently needs to be approved. The PiS and Duda have shown that they are willing to take the risk of a national crisis in order to protect their people and their power. The PiS has called for a protest of all 'free Poles' in front of the parliament building on Thursday. Then we will see whether their narrative is working.”
Kicking off political persecution
For wPolityce, which is closely affiliated to the PiS, the arrest in the presidential palace crossed a dangerous line:
“It's unclear how long legal opposition activities and the functioning of media that are independent of the ruling party will be possible. The unlawful abduction of MPs Kamiński and Wąsik from the presidential palace by the police is the prelude to political persecution without parallel in civilised European countries.”
Double matrix
Journalist Łukasz Warzecha discusses the parallel worlds of Polish politics in Rzeczpospolita:
“The state of de facto legal dualism in which we find ourselves is reminiscent of the situation in the film Matrix, only doubled. There is not just one, there are two artificial pseudo-realities. In both, there are people who - with their serious faces and armed with legal texts, legal commentaries, judgements and legal terminology - prove that only their own world is real. Among the inhabitants of each of these universes, there are only a few who want to break out of it and who understand that this is the only path to salvation.”
Concentrate on the real problems
Gość Niedzielny is horrifed:
“On these same days when the Swedish defence minister is warning the public about the real possibility of war, the political conflict in Poland is escalating to such an extent that the country looks like a banana republic. It doesn't need Russian tanks to bring it down, all it takes is tweets from local politicians. Most of them are adding fuel to the fire by levelling accusations at each other, be it that the police have illegally entered the presidential residence or that the president has committed the crime of hiding wanted persons.”