Thousands of Poles demonstrate against the government of Donald Tusk
Protests after the arrest of PiS politicians – “The situation is very emotional”
The PiS party’s protest against Prime Minister Tusk’s government continues unabated. The dispute escalated after two of its politicians were arrested. President Duda has now announced that he wants to pardon both of them. Correspondent Bartosz Wielinksi talks about this on WELT TV.
After the recent arrest of two politicians from the replaced ruling party PiS, the mood in Poland has become particularly heated. Now thousands of people have taken to the streets against the measures of the new pro-European government.
MThousands of people demonstrated in Poland against the center-left government of Donald Tusk. The predominantly older supporters of the national conservative opposition party PiS gathered in front of the parliament building in Warsaw on Thursday. They carried Polish flags and posters reading: “This is Poland, not Tuskoland” and “Minister of Culture – Minister of Censorship.” PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told the demonstrators: “This is not a Polish government.” According to the Warsaw City Hall, there were 35,000 participants, the organizers spoke of 100,000 to 300,000.
During his appearance in front of the demonstrators, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski warned that the EU was planning the “liquidation of the Polish fatherland” and wanted to reduce it to a “residential area for Poles”. With regard to Tusk’s pro-European coalition government, which has been in office for almost a month, Kaczynski said: “This is not a Polish government.” The PiS assumes that Tusk is acting on behalf of Germany.
The “Protest of the Free Poles” organized by the national conservatives who were voted out in October was originally intended to be directed against the restructuring of the public media. A few weeks ago, Tusk’s government began restructuring the TVP television station, Polish radio and the PAP news agency, which the PiS had brought under control during its eight years in power.
However, the conflict over the arrest of two legally convicted PiS politicians shifted the focus of the event. Former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his former State Secretary Maciej Wasik were arrested and taken to prison on Tuesday after initially seeking protection in the presidential palace from Head of State Andrzej Duda. The PiS describes the two as “political prisoners”. Duda, who comes from the ranks of the PiS, announced shortly before the demonstration that he would pardon Kaminski and Wasik a second time.
