Poland’s education minister has pledged that “harmful leftist entities will not receive any money” from his ministry.
Przemysław Czarnek, an outspoken ultraconservative figure, was responding to controversy over his ministry granting money to a foundation associated with figures from the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party in order for it to buy a villa.
That news emerged last week following an audit by opposition MPs. They found that the money had been awarded to the Polska Wielki Projekt foundation, whose advisory board included culture minister Piotr Gliński and PiS MEPs Zdzisław Krasnodębski and Ryszard Legutko.
The foundation – whose name translates as Poland Great Project – is known for organising a yearly congress under the patronage of President Andrzej Duda. It gives out an annual Lech Kaczyński award, named after the late president and founder of PiS. Last year’s winner was Krasnodębski.
Kongres Polska Wielki Projekt – wydarzenie „edukacyjne”.
Szukam tej młodzieży na sali. Na scenie widzę Premiera?
Minister @CzarnekP przyznał Fundacji PWP w konkursie 5 mln na zakup willi, żeby mogli organizować kolejny Kongres i wręczyć nagrodę Lecha Kaczyńskiego. @kr_szumilas pic.twitter.com/LYcGihbPoo
— Katarzyna Lubnauer (@KLubnauer) January 18, 2023
The foundation was given 5 million zloty (€1.06 million) – the highest amount possible as part of the grant contest – towards buying the villa in Warsaw’s Mokotów district. The opposition MPs argued that the foundation has “practically no” direct involvement in the education system.
PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek, however, defended the grant, noting that the foundation “organises very ambitious congresses” and “awards prizes to people of merit when it comes to Polish political thought”, reports news website Onet.
The education ministry’s spokeswoman, Adrianna Całus-Polak, also noted that the villa would become a “central meeting point for outstanding young people” from countries that are part of the Three Seas Initiative – a regional project that has been led by Poland.
A university is being launched in Poland by conservative group Ordo Iuris with the participation of two Polish government ministers and one from Hungary
It aims to “forge elites for the entire region” and oppose “ideological censorship” of academic debate https://t.co/W51PDJy3Mg
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 11, 2021
In an interview with Onet published today, Czarnek also defended the awarding of the grant, saying that the Polska Wielki Projekt foundation “presents an excellent educational project for young people”.
Czarnek claimed that opposition MPs and media are creating “conspiracy theories” over this issue because they are bitter that “funds from this programme did not go to any leftists and harmful organisations”, as they did when Civic Platform (PO), the main centrist opposition party, was previously in power.
“I repeat: everything is being and will be done in accordance with the law and we will continue to support this type of excellent organisation, and harmful and leftist entities will not receive any money from the education ministry,” declared Czarnek.
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.
