Ruling party supported by and shares mentality with unemployed wife beaters, says Tusk

Opposition leader Donald Tusk has suggested that Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party is supported by – and shares a mentality with – unemployed men who beat women and children. A PiS spokesman says the remarks, which Tusk’s party has now deleted from its social media, show “how he perceives Poles”.

Tusk was speaking at a meeting of supporters of his Civic Platform (PO) party in the town of Sulechów. During his speech, he referred to a recent tragedy in which an eight-year-old boy died allegedly as a result of physical abuse by his stepfather.

“I’m the last person who would want to make politics from such matters,” said Tusk. “But what can we say here when for years we have been living in a state in which the authorities promote violence, where the education minister…says you can spank children?”

“Everything in Poland has for years been turned on its head,” he continued, quoted by news website Gazeta.pl. “Today, the kings of life are those who drink, beat their children, beat women, and have not disgraced themselves with work for many, many years.”

“[They are] a dream political clientele for authorities who themselves have a similar way of thinking,” he declared, adding that the initials of the ruling party stand for Patologia i Sitwa (Pathology and Gang) rather than Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice).

Tusk’s remarks were initially posted on PO’s Twitter profile but that post was later deleted. The party has not commented as to why this happened, though social media users noted that, as well as the controversial nature of his words, there was a spelling mistake in PO’s tweet.

Tego? Orły ortografii. pic.twitter.com/Sqk96DvS3T

— Jowita💯❤🇵🇱#PrzyszłośćToPolska (@Jowita_W) May 11, 2023

The PO leader’s comments were quickly criticised by leading PiS figures. Tomasz Poręba, the head of the party’s campaign for this autumn’s elections, said they showed “contempt for PiS voters”.

PiS’s spokesman, Rafał Bochenek, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the remarks reveal “Tusk’s real attitude towards a large part of Polish society. This is how he perceives Poles. This is another example of the humiliation of millions of people”.

“We have known for a long time that Tusk is sharpening his claws to get [to power] and dismantle social programs for Polish families,” added Bochenek.

PiS has long sought to portray Tusk and PO as elitist liberals who despise ordinary Poles and want to reverse the current government’s expansion of social support.

Main image credit: Platforma Obywatelska RP/Flickr (under public domain)

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.