The former deputy minister is the first political refugee from Donald Tusk's Poland, but others might follow.Continue reading
Poland has permanently recalled its ambassador to Hungary, thereby officially downgrading the level of bilateral diplomatic relations, informed Levente Magyar, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in a social media post.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Photo: Mathieu CUGNOT, EP.
The gradual deterioration of political relations has led to this regrettable step, which is unprecedented in the history of our relations with our Central European partners,”
the politician wrote on Facebook.
“Nevertheless, we consider this to be a temporary situation that will not spoil the historic friendship between Hungarians and Poles. I conveyed this message this morning to Jacek Śladewski, chargé d’affaires at the Polish Embassy. Despite the current political disputes, we are ready to maintain dialogue, preparing for better times ahead in the alliance between our countries”, Magyar concluded.
Political refugee, Marcin Romanowski. Photo: Hungary Today.
Later on today the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has also stated during a press conference in Budapest that “the government is interested in maintaining good cooperation between Hungary and Poland despite political differences, but the current leadership in Warsaw is clearly not interested in this”. Péter Szijjártó stated that “since the change of government in Warsaw, efforts have been made to recall the head of their diplomatic mission. But it is the sovereign right of every government to decide who will represent it in another country. We have always treated Polish ambassadors with respect, whoever they may be. We are interested in good cooperation between Hungary and Poland, but the current Polish government is not interested in this, as is clearly evident,“ he said.
The current Polish government is a pro-war government, while we are a pro-peace government”,
said the minister.
“Regardless of this, we believe that cooperation could be good, because cooperation between the two countries is not just about what we think about the war, but the Polish government is clearly unable to abstract from this difference,” he continued.
File photo of minister Péter Szijjártó. Photo: MTI/Lakatos Péter
The Polish ambassador has already been recalled indefinitely in December last year, after Hungarian authorities have granted political asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister, Marcin Romanowski. This move has branded Donald Tusk’s Poland a de facto authoritarian regime, where the government is persecuting opposition politicians. This has incensed Poland’s left-wing government to the point where they have called for Brussels to punish Hungary with further sanctions. The Law and Justice party-lead government has also closed the Waczlaw Felczak Hungarian-Polish Institute in Warsaw. Apart from the Romanowski affair, the current Polish and Hungarian governments stand on opposing sides on other crucial issues, such as arming Ukraine or illegal migration.
Earlier this year the president of Poland’s Constitutional Court Bogdan Święczkowski has launched legal proceedings against Donald Tusk and other Polish officials and prosecutors, accusing them of being involved in a coup d’état. The left-wing government has been also been accused of serious and systematic human rights violations, including imprisoning political opponents, such as Catholic priest, Father Michał Olszewski, director of the Profeto Foundation. Moreover, the Tusk government has been involved in a massive crackdown on opposition media ever since the elections last year, such as the infamous police raid of the public broadcaster, TVP, in December 2024.
Featured Image: Grok