Far Right in Poland

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Media boycott Polish far-right press conference on Ukraine refugee "privileges"

Journalists switched off their cameras and sat around a nearby table while far-right MPs criticised the support being given to refugees.

notesfrompoland.com

Media boycott Polish far-right press conference on Ukraine refugee “privileges”​

MAR 17, 2022

Journalists working in Poland’s parliament today boycotted a press conference organised by the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) party, at which its MPs complained that Ukrainian refugees are being given a “privileged” status in Poland.

Last week, when parliament approved a new law providing support to the huge numbers of Ukrainians who have fled to Poland, Confederation was the only party to vote against it. It has also in the past campaigned against earlier mass migration of Ukrainians to Poland.

Today, Confederation announced that it would hold a press conference in parliament to discuss the refugee crisis under the slogan “Yes to help, no to privileges”. One of its leaders, Krzysztof Bosak, said ahead of the event that “the overzealousness of the government [in helping refugees] is creating a sense of injustice”.



However, when the press conference began, the two Confederation MPs present – Grzegorz Braun and Michał Urbaniak – found that journalists who normally report from parliament had turned their cameras and microphones off and gone to sit at a nearby table, ignoring the event.

“Journalists were outraged by the topic of the conference,” wrote Łukasz Szpyrka of news website Interia. “The Confederation MPs spoke to themselves and their party’s camera for 19 minutes. Their faces were unlit because the media did not turn on the lights.”

Klaudiusz Slezak, a journalist from Radio Nowy Świat, posted a photo of the press conference with the boycotting journalists seated nearby.



Jan Strzeżek, an MP from the centre-right Agreement (Porozumienie) party, expressed support for the journalists’ actions, tweeting a series of applause emojis while reporting on the boycott.

Many leading journalists from across the political spectrum also praised their colleagues’ actions, including Agnieszka Gozdyra of Polsat News and Sylwia Czubkowska, managing editor of the Spider’s Web technology website, who called the boycott “beautiful” and “good new journalistic standards”.



Piotr Filipczyk, writing for Catholic magazine Niedziela, likewise argued that the boycott was a “legitimate gesture of opposition to a group whose leaders have presented pro-Russian sympathies, thus undermining the Polish national interest”.

However, Łukasz Warzecha, a right-wing libertarian commentator, accused the boycotting journalists of “censorship, motivatived by some infantile emotions”.



During the conference, the far-right MPs gave examples of what they claimed are the privileges granted to Ukrainians, such as being given free travel on public transport while other passengers are facing ever-higher ticket costs, reports Press magazine.

“Poland does not receive financial support [for taking in refugees] like Turkey did,” said Tomasz Grabarczyk, Confederation’s press secretary. “Benefits for refugees will be at the expense of the taxpayer. If we continue the policy of giving away, we will accelerate our path into the abyss.”

Since Russia’s invasion, almost two million people have fled from Ukraine into Poland. In response, the Polish government, local authorities, NGOs, businesses, religious groups and individual Poles have launched an unprecedented effort to provide aid and other forms of support to the refugees.

 

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https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/lizus

"lizus" in English​

boot-licker, brown noser, brown-nose, brown-noser, toady, flatterer, crawler

 

[Petr]

Niccolo is re-tweeted by the "Grand Old Man" of Polish paleoconservatism:

Confederation Liberty and Independence - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In 2022, serious internal splits emerged as a result of Sławomir Mentzen's and Janusz Korwin-Mikke's pro-Russian and Ukrainophobic stances in light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, causing several members to renounce their KORWiN memberships, albeit remaining within the coalition.[27]

 

[Petr]

The Polish boomercons are beginning to back away from the worst sort of Russophobic foolishness - at least they now have some understanding for those who have different ideas from their own, like Orbán:

Polish conservative press praises Orbán government's Hungary First stance in Ukraine conflict

Since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Polish-Hungarian relations have deteriorated significantly, thanks in large part to the two countries’ different stances on Russia and Ukraine. Hungary has pursued a realpolitik policy that puts Hungarians first, ensuring the country has the lowest...

rmx.news

Polish conservative press praises Orbán government’s Hungary First stance in Ukraine conflict​

“Orbán is doing the dirty work for other countries”

June 17, 2022

editor: REMIX NEWS

author: JOHN CODY

Since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Polish-Hungarian relations have deteriorated significantly, thanks in large part to the two countries’ different stances on Russia and Ukraine. Hungary has pursued a realpolitik policy that puts Hungarians first, ensuring the country has the lowest utility bills in Europe while simultaneously refusing to supply weapons to Ukraine. The Polish government, meanwhile, has taken the opposite approach, arguing that arming Ukraine and ensuring its victory is the only way to maintain Europe’s security and protect Poland from an aggressive Russia.

Although the Polish public is highly supportive of Poland’s stance on the conflict, both the country and Europe overall are struggling under inflation and signs of an economic slowdown. The longer the war drags on, the more likely the economic situation will deteriorate.

Now, criticism is being directed at Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) from a number of prominent Polish conservative newspapers and media outlets, arguing that Poland may be doing more harm to itself than good with its efforts to slap an oil embargo on Russia, which Poland aggressively pushed for in Europe’s sixth sanctions package. Notably, Hungary carved out an exemption that will allow it to keep Russian oil flowing into the country, which some experts claim will lead to €600 million in profit a year. Lower energy prices should also help Hungary keep inflation lower than its regional peers and even generate significant revenue for its state coffers.

Hungary’s strategy is winning praise from those in Poland who admire the Hungary First policy of Orbán. The latest episode of the Polish media outlet Do Rzeczy’s political podcast “Polska Do Rzeczy” was also on the subject of the sixth sanctions package. Paweł Lisicki, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and Rafał Ziemkiewicz, the newspaper’s publicist, seemed to come down on the side of Viktor Orbán and his stance on Ukraine.

The two influential conservatives discussed Budapest’s attitude to the embargo and criticized Warsaw’s politics. Lisicki praised Orbán’s position and determination, saying that the Hungarian prime minister was “a politician who thinks in the interests of his own country and its citizens.”

The other participant in the conversation, Ziemkiewicz, contrasted the policies of the Hungarian and Polish governments, considering it a significant difference that “no one in Poland thinks about national interests as they do in Hungary.”

Lisicki also compared the two prime ministers’ statements on the talks with Europe, stressing that Orbán’s priorities had been in favor of the Hungarian people, contrary to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s statements, with Lisicki saying that Orban had “negotiated as much as he could to secure the interests of his citizens.”

Łukasz Warzech, an editor of Do Rzeczy, also voiced his dissatisfaction with the attitude of the Polish government and expressed concern about the consequences of the sixth sanctions package on Europe and Poland’s economies. Warzech said he is puzzled by the fact that “the Polish government is not keeping its own interests in mind, as Hungary is doing.” He claims that for Poland, the fight against Russia is more important than the fate of Poland, in contrast to “Orban’s attitude (…) which seems completely rational.”

Other right-leaning media outlets are also criticizing the Polish government, including Wprost, which cannot be accused of any sort of pro-Russian sentiment, with the paper noting that “Orbán is doing the dirty work for other countries,” which, according to the author, is good for the whole region. He is referring to Orbán’s efforts to fight energy sanctions, which the Hungarian prime minister has argued will crash Europe’s economy and harm Hungarian households.

A mixture of growing dissent on Polish policy in Ukraine along with some admiration — or at least general understanding behind Orbán’s actions — could have long-term implications. Notably, it may start a shift within the Polish conservative public, which constitutes a significant share of the country, to start questioning Poland’s full-throated support for Ukraine, especially if those policies are harming Poland’s security and economic interests.

The stakes remain high for not only Poland, but all of Europe. A top German official warned just this week that economic “shockwaves” are likely to hit his own country this winter due to rising energy prices and looming bankruptcies. As Europe’s biggest and strongest economy, what happens to Germany may pale in comparison to whatever economic hardship transpires in Poland, which is still highly reliant on German trade and consumer spending.

Poland is also already grappling with far more damaging inflation numbers than Germany and a major refugee crisis. Notably, Poland’s pleas for more EU aid to support the over 1 million refugees now in the country have largely fallen on deaf ears. The cynical interpretation is that the left-liberal establishment in Brussels senses that these massive refugee numbers increasingly represent a major burden on Poland’s conservative government, a government that Brussels would very much like to see fall from power. A disgruntled Polish public may sour on the newcomers and direct their ire at the United Right coalition when it comes time to vote — an ideal outcome for the EU.

Prominent voices in the Polish conservative press praising Orbán’s stance also offer some light at the end of the tunnel for shaky Hungarian-Polish relations. It shows that nearly fourth months after the outbreak of hostilities, there are still voices on the Polish right who are seeking an alternative path to the current Polish government, and are raising concerns about the course it is taking. These voices may raise more awareness and understanding about the Hungarian government’s position on the conflict, and help build a bridge to restoring relations, which is vital if Hungary and Poland stand any chance in their ongoing conflict with Brussels.

 

[Petr]

And here is an even stronger sign that Polish conservatives are getting over their worst anti-Russian frenzy, in the sense that they have now remembered that they have enemies in the West as well.

The PiS leader Kaczynski signals to his people that he is getting tired of kowtowing to the demands of EU shitlibs:

The EU's Polish betrayal is akin to that of the Munich Agreement for Czechoslovakia

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński made it clear over the weekend that there would be no more compromises with the EU. “Enough is enough,” he told the party faithful at a rally in Płock, central Poland, commenting on the continuous demands coming from the European Commission with regard to judicial...

rmx.news

The EU’s Polish betrayal is akin to that of the Munich Agreement for Czechoslovakia​

The European Union’s blocking of funds for Poland is a stab in the back similar to that delivered to Czechoslovakia in Munich in 1938, writes Jacek Karnowski

July 18, 2022

editor: GRZEGORZ ADAMCZYK

author: JACEK KARNOWSKI

via: WPOLITYCE.PL

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński made it clear over the weekend that there would be no more compromises with the EU. “Enough is enough,” he told the party faithful at a rally in Płock, central Poland, commenting on the continuous demands coming from the European Commission with regard to judicial reforms in Poland.

“We have shown the maximum good will possible. According to the treaties, we have no obligation to listen to the EU with regard to our judicial system. None whatsoever,“ Kaczyński said.

We have come to a dead end. Poland has swallowed many bitter pills agreeing to far-reaching changes in its judicial system and milestones that weigh heavily in a variety of areas. Polish officials spent many weeks negotiating the details, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had the red carpet rolled out for her when she came to Warsaw.

The agreement with the Commission was undermined the moment after it was signed. We received more demands from Brussels, and von der Leyen announced that she wanted the leader of the opposition, Donald Tusk, to be the Polish prime minister after the next election.

The gloves are off, and there can be no more illusions. We were right to be constructive and to negotiate in good faith, compromising wherever possible. We wanted agreement, but were spurned. It is crystal clear now that this has nothing to do with the details and everything to do with brutal politics.

Poland could do with funding from the operational program of the EU recovery fund, but we can manage without it. Our national debt is relatively low, and the economy is in good condition. That should see us through to the election. And those who thought that the issue of EU funding would be decisive in changing the way the electorate behaves have been proven wrong. The polls have not moved, and the Polish political scene is the same as it was before the dispute.

However, if “enough is enough,” then we have to be ready for the next steps. Poland must gather what it needs to be able to fight its corner. It must veto and block what it can. It must raise taxes in those areas of the economy where tax rates have been historically very low.

We will remember one thing: We are getting stabbed in the back at a time when we are supporting Ukraine militarily and receiving millions of refugees, and when we are ourselves being threatened with aggression. This is effectively the new Munich. A betrayal. All of the EU’s talk of solidarity and mutual support has turned out to be false, and we cannot rely on them.

 

[Rawhide "Doug" Kobayashi]

According to reports in Kommersant, the alliance between Poland and Hungary has collapsed over the issue pertaining to Russia.

 

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[Lord Osmund de Ixabert]

How are they 'far-right'?

 

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A textbook case of Polish boomercon-neocon foolishness... this kind of Polish conservatism will not have future, that's for sure.

Walesa gives me "Churchillian" vibes, in the sense that Churchill was preaching an outdated version of British nationalism while killing Germans, unaware or uncaring that shitlib-Leftist forces were rising in Britain and preparing to take over right after his own passing:

 

[Petr]

Right now, the Polish public opinion is deeply anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian. Those dissidents who swim against this mainstream cannot expect to be terribly popular - at least in near future.

But anti-Atlanticist Polish nationalists must persist and keep trying; we can already see some signs of their views moving from "totally marginal" to "small minority" category (those being against taking Ukrainian refugees rising from 3 % to 11 %):

Anti-Ukrainian protest in Poland attracts no participants

A separate nationalist protest against the "Ukrainisation of Poland" in Warsaw drew only a small crowd.

notesfrompoland.com

Anti-Ukrainian protest in Poland attracts no participants​

SEP 26, 2022

A protest against the reception of Ukrainian refugees in a town near Poland’s border with Ukraine at the weekend attracted no participants. Meanwhile, another event in Warsaw – at which two nationalist MPs spoke – drew only a small crowd.

Figures from the nationalist Confederation (Konfederacja) have in recent weeks been promoting the slogan “Stop the Ukrainisation of Poland”. The party, which has long been opposed to mass immigration from Ukraine, claims that Ukrainian refugees are being given “privileges” not granted to Poles.

On Saturday, the party promoted a march and protest in Warsaw against the “threats posed by the massive influx of people from Ukraine”. One of Confederation’s leaders, Grzegorz Braun, called on all “Polish patriots” opposed to the “de-Polonisation and Ukrainisation of Poland” to attend.



On the day, between 150 and 200 people turned up, report Gazeta Wyborcza and Kresy.pl. They marched from Parade Square to the presidential palace, with one placard reading: “President [Andrzej Duda], you did more in one month for Ukrainians than in seven years for Poles.”

Participants also displayed banners with the logos of far-right groups All-Polish Youth (Młodzież Wszechpolska) and the National Movement (Ruch Narodowy). Among those to speak to the crowd were Braun and another of Confederation’s leaders, Krzysztof Bosak.

Bosak accused the Polish government of “pursuing a policy [to support refugees] beyond the financial capacity of Polish citizens”. He pointed to the rising prices of housing and the costs of providing benefits to Ukrainians as evidence.

A group of counterprotesters held signs saying “Down with fascism”, “Braun to Moscow” and “Poland is home to everyone”.



On Sunday in Sanok, a town of 37,000 in southeastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, Karolina Pikuła, a Confederation activist and associate of Braun, organised another protest against the “Ukrainisation of Poland” on the market square.

However, during the event – which Pikuła streamed live on YouTube – no one turned up. The only interest shown was from a man who came to argue with her.

After Polish media reported on the lack of turnout, Pikuła, who has also tried to organise other protests in the region, defiantly tweeted that “we will continue to relentlessly do our work [against] the deliberate colonisation of Poland by Ukraine” and that she “will talk even to the first passerby”.



Poland has been the largest recipient of refugees from Ukraine, millions of whom have crossed its border since Russia’s invasion in February. It is estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million remain in the country, as well as a similar number of Ukrainians who have previously migrated to Poland.

Poles have been overwhelmingly welcoming of the arrivals. A poll in July showed that 77% of the public had been involved in helping refugees, spending around 9-10 billion zloty (€1.93-2.14 billion) out of their own pockets on doing so.

Other polling has shown overwhelming support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression, and for the Polish government’s strong pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian stance.

However, from the early stages of the crisis, Confederation – which has 12 MPs in parliament – and other far-right groups have sought to raise concern about the mass influx of Ukrainians and the impact it could have economically, politically and culturally on Poland.

In recent weeks, the hashtag #StopUkrainizacjiPolski (#StopTheUkrainisationOfPoland) has often been trending on Twitter. However, analysis by the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab found that it had been boosted by “inauthentic” activity from “accounts exhibiting signs of bot-like behavior”.

Research by state pollster CBOS found that, whereas in March only 3% of the public believed Poland should not accept Ukrainian refugees from conflict zones, by July that had risen to 11%.

 

[Petr]

Moderate Polish minister jumps ship as the government takes an anti-EU tone

Konrad Szymański is a technocrat who was an increasingly awkward fit with the government.

www.politico.eu

WARSAW — Konrad Szymański, Poland’s Europe minister and one of the most moderate members of the country’s nationalist government, is leaving the cabinet, he announced on Wednesday.

The move comes as the government takes on an increasingly anti-EU tone and sharpens attacks against Germany. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki underlined that harder edge this weekend, when he traveled to Madrid to take part in a meeting of nationalist leaders that included former U.S. President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

 

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The Ukrainians are indeed racially and culturally so close to the Poles that Konfederacja cannot expect to make much hay by bashing them too explicitly:

 

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Far right launches election campaign promising to “give Poland back" to the people

"It is up to us to decide about our lives, not officials in Brussels or Davos," declared Confederation.

notesfrompoland.com

Far right launches election campaign promising to “give Poland back” to the people​

FEB 20, 2023

Poland’s main far-right political group, Confederation (Konfederacja), held a convention on Saturday under the slogan “We Will Give You Poland Back”.

“It is up to us to decide about our lives, not officials in Brussels or the Davos [World Economic] Forum,” declared Sławomir Mentzen, one of the group’s leaders. He said they are aiming for a double-digit share of the vote at this autumn’s elections.

Polling currently puts support for Confederation around 6%, narrowly above the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament. Given that those polls also indicate that neither the current ruling camp nor the main opposition may obtain an outright majority, that could leave the far right as kingmakers.

Monthly polling averages for Poland’s six main political groups (source: ewybory.eu)

Saturday’s event came amid recent and ongoing splits within Confederation, which has seen some leading figures depart and others apparently sidelined. This, however, provides Confederation with the chance for a “new opening”, says Mentzen.

Last week saw a quarter of the party’s 12 MPs leave. Artur Dziambor, who heads a group called The Libertarians (Wolnościowcy), was expelled, taking his two colleagues, Dobromir Sośnierz and Jakub Kulesza, with him. Dziambor claimed the rift had emerged because Confederation was too soft towards Russia.

Meanwhile, two Confederation’s founders and leading figures, veteran libertarian Janusz Korwin-Mikke and radical-right figure Grzegorz Braun, did not speak at Saturday’s convention. Both are seen as sympathetic towards Russia and have been critical of Ukraine.

At the event, neither of the main speakers – Mentzen and Krzysztof Bosak, who was the group’s presidential candidate in 2020, when he won 7% of the vote – mentioned the war in Ukraine at all, notes news service Interia.

Both Bosak and Mentzen focused their attacks on the main centrist opposition, which is centred around Civic Platform (PO), as well as the national-conservative ruling coalition, which is dominated by the Law and Justice (PiS) party.

“We reject the arrogance of PO, which it showed during its rule [from 2007-15], but we also reject the fossilised statism of PiS – the cronyism, the incompetence and the shame you bring upon us,” declared Bosak.

Despite the expulsion of Dziambor and his Libertarians, the convention featured strong free-market rhetoric. “Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell,” said Bosak.

The nationalist leader also claimed that Confederation is being censored by Polish public media, which is under the influence of PiS, and by Facebook, which has banned the party from its platform for spreading hate speech and Covid disinformation.

Both Bosak and Mentzen also hit out at the European Union and other “globalists”, in particular for the green policies they have promoted. “They want to decide our every move, track our every move, decide what we eat, what we drink, how we live and what we talk about with friends,” said Mentzen, quoted by the Do Rzeczy weekly.

“My home is my business. My garage is my business. My plate is my business,” he declared.

Meanwhile, in a separate development over the weekend, Robert Bąkiewicz, the head of the Independence March – an annual nationalist event in Warsaw organised by far-right groups – was dismissed from his position.

Bąkiewicz has faced growing criticism in recent times from other far-right figures – including some of the leaders of Confederation – for “selling out” to PiS, in the words of Bosak. Groups linked to Bąkiewicz have received millions of zloty in government grants.

On Sunday, a general meeting of the Independence March Association voted to remove Bąkiewicz from his position. Bąkiewicz himself, however, claims that the vote was held illegitimately and says he does not recognise the result.

 

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The nationalist leader also claimed that Confederation is being censored by Polish public media, which is under the influence of PiS, and by Facebook, which has banned the party from its platform for spreading hate speech and Covid disinformation.

Konfederacja has also complained that it is being systematically underestimated by both right-wing and left-wing pollsters (the former being in the service of the PiS, and the latter of the shitlibs).

In any case, this new IBSP poll is the best one that they have had for a long time (with the overall support of 11,13 %), and it is something of an outlier - but perhaps it is the only one that gives a glimpse of the real state of things, and it shows an almost "too good to be true" level of support for Konfederacja among the younger Poles, who are thirsting for some third alternative between boomercon Russophobia and westernizing shitlibbery:

 

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