“We will fight Brussels occupier” as we did the Germans and Soviets, says Polish official

Poland will “fight the Brussels occupier”, just as it did the German and Soviet ones in the past, a senior politician from the ruling party has declared. His remarks follow a series of attacks on the European Union by other high-ranking officials amid Warsaw’s latest dispute with Brussels over the rule of law.

The remarks were made by Marek Suski, deputy head of the Law and Justice (PiS) party’s parliamentary caucus and chair of the parliamentary energy and state treasury committee. He previously served as the head of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s political cabinet and remains on his council of advisors.

In a recording published online, Suski is heard speaking at a ceremony yesterday to mark the 76th anniversary of Polish wartime resistance fighters being released from a communist prison.

“Poland fought bravely during World War Two against one occupier,” said the politician, referring to the Nazi German occupation of Poland. “We also fought against the Soviet occupier. We will fight the Brussels occupier.”

“Brussels sends us overlords, who are meant to bring Poland to order, to put us on our knees, [so] that we might be a German state [Land], and not a proud nation of free Poles,” he added.

Referring to Poland’s underground resistance fighters, Suski concluded by saying “their blood cannot have been [spilt] for nothing, we must today stand firm for a free Poland, and not surrender, lest their blood be wasted”.

The PiS politician’s remarks drew condemnation from opposition figures. Konrad Frysztak – an MP for the centrist Civic Platform (PO), who published part of the recording online – called it a “disgusting speech”.

“It is difficult to comprehend that, on the one hand, the PiS government wants to fight the EU – [membership of which] most Poles support – and, on the other hand, it reaches out for money from this same union,” Frysztak told Gazeta Wyborcza.

“After the words of Speaker Terlecki and yesterday’s tweet by MP Kwiecień…Suski’s words are proof that [PiS chairman] Jarosław Kaczyński has unleashed his MPs, who are starting to prepare Poles for leaving the EU, for Polexit,” he added.

Earlier this week, Ryszard Terlecki, the head of PiS’s parliamentary caucus and a deputy speaker of parliament, called for Poland to seek “drastic solutions” in its dispute with the EU. He then pointed to the example of the UK, which had chosen to leave the “Brussels dictatorship”.

PiS MP Anna Kwiecień also tweeted that there was a “clear German plan” to “demand that Poland be ruled by our overlord D[onald] Tusk”, leader of PO. Speaking to Radio Rekord, Kwiecień confirmed that her words related to the European Commission’s “attempt to block financial resources” for Poland.

Former PiS foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski, who is now a Member of the European Parliament, told Polskie Radio that “the actions of the European Commission are a war to overthrow the Polish government”.

In response to the controversy whipped up by his remarks, Terlecki yesterday tweeted a denial that he or his party were seeking Poland’s exit from the EU.

“Poland was, is and will be a member of the EU,” he wrote. He said that the idea of “Polexit” has been “invented by PO” to “fuel disputes”.

Opinion polls regularly show that an overwhelming majority of the Polish public favour remaining in the EU. However, one recent survey found that support for leaving the bloc had reached its highest level in over a decade.

Main image credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Gazeta

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.