A tabloid-style pamphlet encouraging Poles to vote against the “invasion of illegal immigrants” in the government’s upcoming referendum is being distributed by Poland’s state postal service. It also warns about opposition leader Donald “Tusk’s secret plans”.
The material is produced by a foundation that earlier this year received almost 6 million zloty from the prime minister’s office. The opposition says that this constitutes illegal campaign financing and has called on prosecutors to investigate.
Just received this pamphlet of friendly electoral advice from a friendly employee of Poczta Polska, the 100% state-owned postal service of Poland. It was published by Fundacja Niezależne Media (the Independent Media Foundation).🧵 @danieltilles1 @notesfrompoland pic.twitter.com/0mCPykx13T
— William H. Burke (@WHBurke) October 4, 2023
The four-page pamphlet is titled Your Referendum Voice and calls on voters to “say no four times on 15 October”. That is the date on which the government has called a referendum containing four questions, each of which it argues that Poles should vote “no” for.
It is also the date of parliamentary elections, and many experts as well as the opposition have argued that the referendum is simply a way for the ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party to boost turnout among its voters and to indirectly finance its election campaign.
The pamphlet features headlines such as: “It is already an invasion. Say no to the arrival of illegal immigrants in Poland”, “We reveal Tusk’s secret plan”, “Privatisation was a process of stealing from Poles”, and “By Tusk’s decision, Poles were supposed to work until death”.
All of those relate to questions in the referendum, which will ask Poles to reject the EU’s migration pact, to stop the sale of state-owned assets to foreign entities, not to raise the retirement age, and not to remove an anti-migrant wall built by the government on the border with Belarus.
The last page of the pamphlet gives instructions on how to vote “no” on all four referendum questions.
The ruling party wants to make this year's election a referendum on opposition leader @donaldtusk.
While old foes Kaczyński and Tusk are relishing their renewed battle, it may benefit neither and instead further fuel the recent rise of the far right https://t.co/CTdwyPVkKu
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) August 16, 2023
Gazeta Wyborcza, a government-critical newspaper, reported yesterday that postal service employees would be distributing copies of the pamphlet. A number of media outlets and individuals have since confirmed that copies are already been delivered and handed out by the post office.
Subsequently, Tomasz Sakiewicz, the head of the foundation that is producing the pamphlets, confirmed to news outlet Wirtualne Media that the post office is responsible for distribution.
“I would like it to reach as many people as possible,” he said, adding that “participation in such projects is one of the foundation’s basic goals”.
Opposition party PO has announced that it will sue a right-wing newspaper for a cover that appears to liken its leader, Donald Tusk, to Hitler.
A journalist from the newspaper, which is supportive of the government, denies that that was their intention https://t.co/n2tKGI6QsE
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 21, 2022
Sakiewicz is editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska, a PiS-linked conservative newspaper. He is also president of the Independent Media Foundation (Fundacja Niezależne Media) that is behind the pamphlets.
In April this year, the prime minister granted the foundation 5.7 million zloty (€1.2 million) from the state budget reserve, reports news website Wirtualna Polska. The money was intended for “financing a public task under the title Academy of Democracy”.
The size of the grant was over 20 times larger than the total revenue the foundation received last year, notes Wirtualne Media.
Its new pamphlet has been condemned by figures from Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) party, which is the main member of Poland’s largest opposition group, Civic Coalition (KO).
Fundacja, która otrzymała z rezerwy budżetowej sześć milionów złotych, prowadzi kampanię referendalną po linii rządzących – poinformowali posłowie KO. Pokazali propagandową gazetę, która została wydana przez tę fundację.
👉https://t.co/1kz8fEt6Ty pic.twitter.com/TIq1rDatZy— tvn24 (@tvn24) October 4, 2023
The material is “obscene” and “very harmful” said PO deputy leader Cezary Tomczyk. It is neither “informative” nor “promotional” but rather “de facto a PiS campaign, organised with state money, bypassing the electoral fund and the law on financing political parties, in order to take money out of your pockets for the PiS campaign”.
This is “one big scam by Prime Minister Morawiecki”, continued Tomczyk, who said that PO was therefore submitting a notification to prosecutors about the potential committing of a crime by Morawiecki.
Earlier this week a PiS candidate also filed a complaint to the electoral commission alleging that one of Poland’s largest charities, WOŚP, was illegally financing the opposition’s election campaign.
One of Poland's largest charities, WOŚP, has been accused of illegally financing the opposition's election campaign.
Its billboards declare: "Poles! Let’s defeat this evil!!! We will win." Only in small letters beneath do they add "against sepsis" https://t.co/d7J3Wu4PfF
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 4, 2023
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Main image credit: WHBurke/Twitter
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.
