“We will destroy these people,” says Polish leader Kaczynski in response to protests

Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, has warned that “we will destroy” those involved in vulgar protests against the government.

During a speech to PiS supporters in the town of Chojnice, Kaczyński referred to opponents of his party who protest under an eight-star logo (***** ***, which stands for “J***ć PiS”, meaning “F**k PiS”) and who shout “W*********ć”, meaning “F**k off”.

Such slogans became widespread during mass protests in 2020 against a near-total ban on abortion. Many recent PiS events, in particular those at which Kaczyński speaks, have also seen such demonstrations, albeit small.

That was the case again in Chojnice, where protesters outside held up signs bearing the eight-star logo. Inside the hall, one heckler interrupted Kaczyński’s speech.

“Eight stars, that word starting with ‘w’,” said Kaczyński in Chojnice. Such “plain rudeness [is meant] to reduce our society to the level of the lumpenproletariat.”

“That is the goal of these people…[who believe that] Poland cannot be a strong nation, it cannot have a strong state, because our neighbours do not like it,” he continued.

“Well no,” Kaczyński declared. “We will have a strong state and we will destroy these people.”

As in other recent speeches, Kaczyński made clear that the “neighbours” he was referring to are Germany and Russia, whom he has previously accused of jointly plotting against Poland with the help of the opposition Civic Platform (PO) party, which was in power from 2007 to 2015.

“The policy of our predecessors was a policy of subordination to Germany, that is de facto to Russia,” said the PiS chairman, quoted by news outlet Interia. “We don’t want to be under the boot – that is the fundamental difference between us and our opponents – neither the German boot, the Russian, nor any other.”

“Such people are involved in degrading Poland through this method of political struggle, in order to introduce violence into public life,” he added.

Main image credit: Jakub Porzycki / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

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.