Polish President Andrzej Duda has declared that Prime Minister Donald Tusk received a “red card” from voters in the presidential election, blaming his aggressive governance and efforts to control public media for the defeat of his preferred candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski.
In an interview with Radio Wnet following the presidential election, President Duda sharply criticized Tusk’s combative political style, accusing him of overreach and authoritarian tendencies. “Donald Tusk fought for the survival of the policy line he adopted – the line of aggressive policy. I think that this is what was accounted for by the Poles, and he got a red card,” Duda said.
The president emphasized that the high turnout and decisive victory for conservative candidate Karol Nawrocki, who secured over 10.6 million votes, constituted a clear mandate to govern. “The result of the presidential election is unequivocal,” Duda said. “Karol Nawrocki won with a difference in the votes of the population of a large Polish city.”
Duda warned that any attempt to undermine the legitimacy of Nawrocki’s victory would spark a backlash amid remarks made by the prime minister after the election that he would push ahead with his progressive agenda. “Donald Tusk knows that these millions of people may take to the streets if the prime minister tried to deny these results,” he stated.
He also accused the Tusk government of attempting to dominate public institutions and media, referencing what he called “brutal actions” such as the politicization of the prosecutor’s office, arrests, and the forceful takeover of public broadcasting. “Breaking the law, brutal actions in short. I think that this is what was accounted for by the Poles on Sunday,” Duda said.
The government control of public media was noted in a damning assessment published by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) after Sunday’s run-off election, in which it reported how Donald Tusk’s preferred candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, benefited from unregulated third-party campaigning and favorable media coverage, while state broadcasters were critical of nationalist rival Nawrocki.
Turning to his own role, Duda clarified that he would not interfere in the personnel decisions of his successor. “I said to President Karol Nawrocki that I would absolutely not try to suggest or impose anything on him, especially in terms of personnel,” he stated, adding that while some of his associates have experience, it would be up to Nawrocki to decide.
Duda acknowledged his past rivalry with Trzaskowski, whom he defeated in 2020, but said they maintained a “mutually respectful” relationship. “We treated each other completely normally” during professional interactions when in office, he remarked.
He also took aim at the European Commission, accusing it of politically motivated double standards. Duda recounted that the Commission initially accepted his proposed judicial reforms but later withheld post-pandemic recovery funds that contributed to the fall of the conservative Law and Justice (party) government. “It was enough for Donald Tusk to create a coalition that took power in Poland, removed PiS from power in this way, and suddenly it turned out that everything was fine,” he said. “It is enough that the liberal-leftist group has obtained its man from its camp, who is the prime minister here and who is therefore the guarantor of their interests in the Republic of Poland.”
On the domestic front, Duda said he would recommend that Nawrocki continue to treat all presidentially appointed judges as fully legitimate. He reiterated his veto against judicial reforms proposed by former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and argued that post-communist judges should be stripped of their pensions. “All judges who were immersed in communism should be deprived of their retirement, if they are still alive,” he said. “They never deserved it.”
Duda suggested that Tusk is still fixated on political rivalry with Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński. “In fact, Donald Tusk… is fighting only with Jarosław Kaczyński. The only thing is to deprive Kaczyński of power, to show once again that he is stronger,” he said.
While Duda expressed past disagreements with PiS over personnel decisions, such as the management of public broadcaster TVP, he was even more critical of Tusk’s truthfulness. “In my opinion, he rarely tells the truth. We should speak when he tells the truth rather than when he doesn’t,” Duda said.
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