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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland’s minister of science and higher education has resigned following criticism that he forwarded the name of a trade union whistleblower to a university rector, despite her request to remain anonymous, and that he failed to properly complete his statutory asset declaration.
Dariusz Wieczorek has previously defended his actions and says that he still intends to do so. But he announced today that he has decided to step down to prevent the controversy from “impacting on the development of Polish science and the functioning of the [ruling] coalition”.
Minister Dariusz Wieczorek składa dymisję. Jednocześnie uderza w media i mówi o „hejcie” na siebie i ministerstwo. Do błędów się nie przyznaje. Zamiast tego mamy chwalenie się osiągnięciami i zrzucanie winy na dziennikarzy. pic.twitter.com/1htXbaNwV3
— Michał Wróblewski (@wroblewski_m) December 19, 2024
His decision follows a week of mounting pressure following an article published on 12 December by Wirtualna Polska, a leading news website.
It reported that Gabriela Fostiak, the head of a trade union at the University of Szczecin, had informed Wieczorek of alleged irregularities at her institution, including that the authorities were cutting spending in many areas but not reducing salaries of the most senior management.
Fostiak told the science ministry that she wished her complaint to remain anonymous. However, the ministry informed her that she was not legally entitled to whistleblower status, which would protect her identity. It then forwarded her letters to the university’s rector.
Kolejny odcinek sagi pod tytułem „Minister Wieczorek i rektor Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego”.
Najbardziej zbulwersowało mnie obcięcie stypendiów dla osób z niepełnosprawnościami i jednoczesna duża podwyżka dla rektora.
Polecamy się z @p_figurski.https://t.co/wCyEg3ZCdb— Patryk Słowik (@PatrykSlowik) December 12, 2024
Wirtualna Polska’s article prompted widespread criticism of Wieczorek, who is a member of The Left (Lewica), one of the junior partners in Poland’s governing coalition. Even figures from within the ruling camp, and some from The Left itself, expressed disapproval of his actions.
Wieczorek, however, defended himself, saying that he and his ministry had followed all relevant procedures. Yet he also initially denied sending one of Fostiak’s letters to the university rector, a claim that was quickly shown by Wirtualna Polska to be false.
The ministry’s press officer, Natalia Żyto, issued an apology for that error last week. Then on Monday this week she resigned from her position. The same day, Wieczorek admitted that his ministry had made a mistake by not giving Fostiak time to respond to their decision not to protect her identity.
Earlier this month Wirtualna Polska had also reported on alleged links between the minister and the rector of the University of Szczecin.
It claimed the wife of the science minister was appointed a director at the university thanks to a lowering of requirements for the position, a change that was introduced at the beginning of 2024. Meanwhile, the wife of the university’s rector was appointed to a committee by the science minister.
In a statement to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), the university called the media reports a “manipulation”. It denied that either of the wives had been given their positions due to their husbands and accused the media of “devaluing the professional achievements of two female employees”.
This week, Wirtualna Polska also published a further report that Wieczorek had failed to include one property, a garage, in a declaration of assets required from politicians and had overestimated the value of another property. The minister admitted he had made “inadvertent errors” and apologised.
Oświadczenie ws. dzisiejszej publikacji w Wirtualnej Polsce. pic.twitter.com/mBHsQN3SSS
— Dariusz Wieczorek (@wieczorekdarek) December 16, 2024
On Monday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that he would speak this week with the leadership of The Left to decide on Wieczorek’s fate.
At a press conference in parliament today, Wieczorek announced his resignation. He said that “recent weeks have been very difficult for me due to various reports and waves of hate against the ministry that have appeared”, reports broadcaster TVN.
He pledged that he would continue to “defend my good name” and “explain all these matters”. But he added that he does “not want what has been happening to have any impact on the development of Polish science and the functioning of the coalition, which is why I have decided to resign”.
There has as yet been no announcement on who will replace Wieczorek as minister, though it is likely to be another figure from The Left given the previously agreed division of ministries between coalition partners.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: MNISW (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)
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.
