Tusk accuses Polish government of allowing “uncontrolled” immigration from Muslim countries

The leader of Poland’s largest opposition party, Donald Tusk, has called for the country to “regain control of its borders”, saying that the government has allowed many workers from Muslim countries to come to Poland.

Tusk’s call represents a shift in rhetoric from his centrist Civic Platform (PO) – which in the past accused the national-conservative ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party of exploiting anti-immigration rhetoric for political gain – in the run-up to elections this autumn, when PiS will bid for an unprecedented third consecutive term.

Tusk accused PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczyński of hypocrisy for accepting large numbers of foreign workers from Muslim countries while refusing migrants from such countries under the EU’s relocation programme. But his statement has provoked criticism from both the ruling camp and other opposition parties.

“We are watching the shocking scenes of the violent riots in France and right now Kaczyński is preparing a document that will allow even more citizens from countries such as Saudi Arabia, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar, the UAE, Nigeria or the Islamic Republic of Iran to come to Poland,” Tusk said in the video.

He was referring to a bill that would expand the list of countries whose citizens can apply for a visa directly from the Polish foreign ministry, rather than at a consulate. This possibility is currently available only to Belarusians.

The law, currently being drafted by the foreign ministry, would extend that to citizens of countries from the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, UAE), the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), Asia (Pakistan, India, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam), as well as Nigeria, Moldova and Ukraine.

The justification for the bill indicates that the need for change is related to responding to labour market demands. Companies in Poland are facing a shortage of people willing to work, especially in sectors such as construction, welding and transport.

“Kaczyński has already brought in over 130,000 citizens from such countries last year – 50 times more than in 2015 [the final year that PO was in power],” Tusk said. “Why does he simultaneously attack foreigners and immigrants and want to let them in by the hundreds of thousands and from such countries?”

The PO leader suggested that Kaczyński allows some migrants in and opposes others because “he needs an internal war, a conflict, the fear of Polish citizens because then he is more able to govern”.

“We need to remove him from power as soon as possible to avoid this danger. This danger is really lurking from around the corner. Poles must regain control of their country and its borders,” Tusk added.

In response to Tusk’s allegations, PiS figures have accused him of hypocrisy, noting that it was a government led by his PO party that agreed to a previous EU migrant relocation scheme in 2015.

After coming to power shortly afterwards, PiS refused to accept Poland’s quota of migrants. However, during its time eight years in power, it has overseen the highest level of immigration in Polish history – the majority from Ukraine but with many arrivals coming from the Middle East and Asia too.

But PiS notes that it is opposed to the mandatory relocation of migrants who have entered the EU in irregular fashion whereas the migrants it has allowed into the country have entered legally.

Tusk appears to have “experienced a profound spiritual transformation overnight”, said Kaczyński in response to Tusk’s claims. “It turns out that he is fiercely opposed to any immigration to Poland.”

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also expressed surprise at Tusk’s words. “Donald Tusk calls for the defence of Poland’s borders…sounds like a paradox,” he wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, politicians from the ruling camp pointed out that Tusk had changed his opinion in recent years on a number of issues, such as the government’s flagship child benefit programme, the construction of a wall on the border with Belarus, and raising the retirement age, ultimately agreeing with the government.

“He’s always lied like a dog. He lied about not raising the retirement age. He lied that there was no money for 500 plus,” justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on Twitter. “Today Poles are supposed to believe him that he wants to keep us safe from immigrants.”

Other opposition parties and commentators, meanwhile, criticised Tusk and PO for launching a “bidding war” with PiS on anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Adrian Zandberg, one of the leaders of the Together (Razem) party that forms part of The Left (Lewica), Poland’s second largest opposition group, wrote that “bidding with the extreme right” on immigration “is like wrestling with a pig in the mud”.

“It is not something that can be won,” said Zandberg. “Several parties in Europe have already tried this, the only winners were the fascists. They just end up getting stained in the brown slime. It’s really not worth it.”

Meanwhile, Szymon Hołownia, leader of the centrist Poland 2050 (Polska 2050) party, part of the “Third Way” coalition, which wants to be an alternative to the PiS-PO duopoly, declared that “security does not exclude humanity”.

“As an immigrant not from any of ‘those countries’, I find your repetition of PiS rhetoric of ‘good immigrant versus bad immigrant’ disgusting. A seemingly liberal formation should not engage in a race to the bottom,” commented Ben Stanley, a political scientist at SWPS University in Warsaw.

Tusk also received criticism from a former member of his own party, Nigerian-born John Godson, who migrated to Poland in 1993 and in 2010 became the country’s first ever black MP.

When Poland hosted the European Football Championship in 2012, “Tusk assured…that Poland is a very hospitable country for foreigners. Donald, what’s changed?” tweeted Godson.

Main image credit: European People’s Party / flickr.com (under CC BY 2.0)

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.