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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said that Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (EPP) parliamentary group in the European Parliament, is trying to interfere in the Polish parliamentary elections in the autumn. Morawiecki is basing this on the fact that Manfred Weber, who has also been accused of undermining former Hungarian EPP member, Fidesz, has spoken of defeating the “anti-legal” Polish ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), reports Hirado.hu.
Mateusz Morawiecki pointed out on the social networking app X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, that as prime minister of a democratically elected government with a parliamentary majority, he would not allow for such defamation of the choices made by Polish citizens.
Miarka się przebrała. @ManfredWeber, który na co dzień posługuje się @donaldtusk jako swoim pomocnikiem w Polsce, znów zaatakował. Wzywam na debatę. Jeszcze dziś wyślę szczegóły. #TuskPomocnikWebera pic.twitter.com/DbhbeLSZDy
— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) August 8, 2023
The Polish Prime Minister recalled that Manfred Weber, as the German leader of the EP parliamentary group to which the main Polish opposition party, the Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska, PO), belongs, on Sunday listed the Law and Justice group (PiS), leading the Polish government coalition, among the parties “to be defeated.” Enough is enough, Morawiecki underlined.
He was referring to Weber’s statement on German television ZDF that all parties must accept the rule of law and that those that do not, like the German AfD, the French National Front led by Le Pen or the PiS in Poland, are the enemies and they will defeat them.
Morawiecki therefore invited Weber to a debate on October 2nd. He asked Weber whether he was accusing the Polish government of breaking democratic rules, adding that Weber should say it to the face of millions of Poles in a TV debate. The Polish Prime Minister said that he was ready to discuss the details of such a “confrontation” in the coming days. Among the topics to be discussed, he highlighted the migration crisis, as well as social and economic issues.
I would kindly like to invite you @ManfredWeber to join me for a debate – to be scheduled for the 2nd October 2023. pic.twitter.com/JvApc513ml
— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) August 8, 2023
“If the Germans choose to openly admit their intention to directly interfere in Polish elections, then this matter should be discussed on an open forum,” Morawiecki wrote. He also called on the EPP group leader not to enlist the help of Donald Tusk this time. The Civic Platform, led by Tusk, is the EPP’s member in the European Parliament. The PO President has already announced an opposition demonstration in Warsaw on October 1st.
Weber had already told the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in June that his group was committed to a line that excludes radicals and was building a firewall against PiS.
In his opinion, they are the only force that can replace PiS in Poland and lead the country back to Europe. After Weber’s statements, the Polish government spokesman also accused the German politician of influencing the upcoming Polish parliamentary elections.
According to Morawiecki,
actions such as these are without precedent in modern history, and having in mind upcoming elections in Poland, this declaration can be interpreted as an attempt to directly interfere in this process.
He argued that Poland does not require lessons on democracy, for it is thanks to Solidarity (the first independent trade union in a Warsaw Pact country to be recognized by the state in 1980, led by Lech Walesa) that in this part of Europe, freedom and democracy exist today.
Last year, Weber already hinted at his dislike of the Polish governing party. When asked about the European People’s Party in an interview, he said that the EPP was not under pressure from populist forces and that the party family was confident and growing stronger. The results of the elections in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Sweden show this, and “the prospects for next year are good in Poland.”
Moreover, this is not the first case that Weber has sought to interfere in a country’s internal affairs with his various statements, having spoken out against the Hungarian government on several occasions.
Last year, in connection with the oil embargo, he said that he was tired of the EU’s dependence on Viktor Orbán on foreign policy issues.
As Hungary Today reported earlier, the dispute between the EPP leader and Orbán stems from Weber’s allegations of populism, nationalism, euroscepticism, the case of George Soros’ Central European University, and his “the EU is always right” attitude. From the Hungarian government party, Fidesz’ point of view, the general complaint against Weber was that he had allowed the EPP to shift strongly to the left, abandoning its Christian conservative outlook and respect for the voice of Member States. In the past, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán has accused Weber of being a member of “the elite club of the left,” and of bullying the British Conservatives in the EPP that opened up the road to Brexit.
Featured photo via Facebook/Manfred Weber