“We are dealing with an attempt to deprive us of our sovereignty, even in the sphere of culture,” warns Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland’s ruling party, in reference to EU policies towards his country. Officials and institutions “within the EU want to impose their values on us”.
Kaczyński – who recently returned to government as deputy prime minister but already was, and remains, Poland’s de facto leader – promised to oppose EU efforts to undermine Polish culture and to link European funds to rule-of-law criteria.
Elsewhere in an interview with Gazeta Polska, Kaczyński discussed the animal rights bill that almost tore the government apart in September, the future of his ruling coalition, and whether Poland should return to lockdown in response to record numbers of coronavirus cases.
“Poland did not agree to be anyone’s colony”
“Poles, in deciding to join the EU, did not agree to be anyone’s colony,” said Kaczyński, chairman of the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which rules Poland as the head of the United Right coalition with two junior coalition partners.
The idea of making EU funds conditional on the rule of law would in practice result in “subordination [that] would make us and others a colony of the so-called most influential EU players”, he warned.
Many European leaders have expressed support to linking EU funds to respect for the rule of law and European values. But the idea is strongly opposed by the Polish government, which says it would be “arbitrary” and used for “political” purposes.
Such a system would allow the “elites ruling the EU” to block funds for “countries whose culture or tradition” they “do not like”, Kaczyński told Gazeta Polska.
“Today, EU institutions, their various officials, some politicians whom Poles never chose, demand of us that we revise our entire culture, reject everything that is extremely important to us.”
“There is no trace of justification in the treaties,” said Kaczyński. “It is contrary to our declaration on cultural sovereignty accepted by the Sejm before joining the EU. There will be no consent for such actions.”
Poland has faced criticism from EU institutions and officials over the anti-LGBT campaign its government has led over the last two years. In response, leading figures from the ruling coalition have accused them of seeking to impose alien values and culture on Poland.
“A Christian desire to protect animals”
Kaczyński also discussed the prospects for the controversial animal rights bill which almost brought down his government last month and is still working its way through parliament.
The proposed law – which includes banning the fur industry and severely limiting ritual slaughter of animals, both of which are big Polish export industries – has been strongly backed by Kaczyński, a well known animal lover. It is also supported by most opposition parties.
However, it has not been supported by PiS’s two coalition partners, nor even by some within PiS itself, who defied Kaczyński’s order to vote in favour of it. It has also prompted regular protests by farmers.
Gazeta Polska put it to Kaczyński that his support for the bill has been perceived as an attempt to pander to urban voters with a “leftist ideology of anthropomorphised animals”.
Kaczyński responded that “it is painful to listen to such nonsense”. He said that he is motivated by the “very human and Christian…desire to protect living beings from unnecessary suffering”, adding that “abuses” in some cases of ritual slaughter have been motivated by profit.
The PiS chairman also hit out at some “press titles favouring the right” who have “stood almost at the forefront of lobbying” by parts of the agricultural industry. Such media are “sowing confusion and untruth”, he said.
The animal rights bill was voted through by the opposition-controlled Senate on 14 October with a number of amendments, including granting fur farms an extended transition period before having to close and lessening restrictions on ritual slaughter. It now returns to the Sejm, where PiS has a majority, for final approval.
“Hopeful” about the future of the United Right
Kaczyński also spoke to Gazeta Polska about the fallout from the rebellion within his coalition over the bill, which appears to have been ended with a new agreement that saw Kaczyński himself return to government for the first time since 2007.
The PiS chairman admitted that he cannot say “with 100% certainty that the United Right will survive” until the end of the parliamentary term in 2023. While he is “optimistic” about the future, he “cannot rule out there will be some clashes”.
“PiS is currently undergoing some changes, which will undoubtedly stir up emotions, but it is my deep-seated belief that they are necessary for us to keep hold of power until 2023,” he said.
“Safeguard health but give citizens a chance to work”
The Polish government has in recent weeks been forced to introduce ever tougher restrictions in response to record and rapidly rising numbers of COVID-19 cases.
Asked about a potential return to lockdown, Kaczyński told Gazeta Polska that he is “not a supporter of this solution”. He said that the government “must on the one hand safeguard the health of citizens, but, on the other [hand] give them a chance to work”.
Kaczyński also appealed to the public “to protect yourself and others from infection”, and criticised those who downplay the severity of the pandemic and discourage people from wearing masks. The PiS chairman has himself faced criticism for not always wearing a mask or maintaining distancing in public appearances.
Kaczyński handed out an award at a conference yesterday without him or the recipient wearing masks or distancing
The head of the PM's office says he was not violating government guidelines because he was technically at work, meaning a mask wasn't required https://t.co/WR7D4r8Zee
— Daniel Tilles (@danieltilles1) October 12, 2020
Kaczyński also took the opportunity to criticise Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who ran as the opposition candidate against the PiS-allied incumbent president Andrzej Duda in this year’s election.
“I am critical of the actions of some local authorities, such as those in Warsaw, who allow assemblies that are obviously a breach of the epidemic [regulations] and simply a threat to human safety,” he said.
In April, Kaczyński and other senior PiS figures provoked controversy for attending commemorative events in Warsaw on the anniversary of the Smolensk disaster at which they did not wear masks or maintain distancing.
Main image credit: Jakub Porzycki / Agencja Gazeta
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
