Polish TV suspends Olympic commentator for “communist” opening ceremony remarks

Polish state broadcaster TVP has suspended its main commentator for the Paris Olympics after he said on air during the opening ceremony that John Lennon’s song Imagine, which was played at the event, presents a “communist vision”.

The decision has been criticised by leading figures from the right-wing opposition – who had praised veteran commentator Przemysław Babiarz for his remarks – but also by some left-wing figures from the ruling coalition. Even President Andrzej Duda commented on the decision.

During Friday’s opening ceremony, which took place on the River Seine, Imagine was played while on the screen the words “We stand and call for peace” appeared.

At that moment, TVP commentator Babiarz said, “Imagine, that is [a call] for a world without heaven, nations, religions, and that is a vision of this peace that everyone is supposed to embrace, that is a vision of communism, unfortunately”.

In his song, Lennon called on people to “imagine there’s no heaven…no countries…and no religion, too”. The former Beatle himself once admitted that the song “is virtually The Communist Manifesto, even though I’m not particularly a communist”.

Conservative figures in Poland, which was for decades ruled by an authoritarian communist regime, have long been critical of the song. When Imagine was played at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, a Polish bishop said that it presented a “poisonous utopia”.

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After yesterday’s ceremony, Babiarz won praise from the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), Poland’s main opposition party. “I would like to thank Babiarz for the voice of reason and honesty in this politically correct madness,” wrote former PiS prime minister Beata Szydło.

However, on Saturday afternoon, TVP announced that Babiarz had been suspended for the remainder of the Olympics.

“Mutual understanding, tolerance, reconciliation: these are not only the basic Olympic ideas, they are also the foundation of the standards that the new TVP follows,” wrote the broadcaster, which was removed from PiS influence when the current government took office in December last year.

“We would like to inform you that after yesterday’s scandalous words by Przemysław Babiarz, he has been suspended from his duties and will not comment on the competitions during the Olympic Games,” added TVP.

TVP’s decision was met with condemnation from PiS figures – with former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki calling it “censorship” – but also from The Left (Lewica), which is part of the current ruling coalition.

“Have you gone crazy, TVP?” asked Anna-Maria Żukowska, head of The Left’s parliamentary caucus.

She had been among those on Friday who mocked Babiarz on social media for his comments on Imagine. But after his suspension, she wrote: “We can banter about meanings on Twitter, but to suspend a journalist because of it? This is a scandal.”

Even President Duda commented on the issue, telling the Sportowe Fakty website that “artistic creation can be interpreted in various ways and no one should forbid it”. It seems “one is not allowed to present one’s own point of view in this country”, he added.

Another element of Friday’s opening ceremony that caused controversy in Poland was the recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper by drag queens, which was criticised by many figures from PiS and the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) party.

Patryk Jaki, a PiS MEP, condemned the actions of the “gender circus performers” who “are depraved to the core, evil people who knowingly offend the feelings of so many believers around the world”.

Main image credit: Dunk/Flickr (under CC BY 2.0)

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.