News Updates From Poland
- PostEagle
- March 18, 2024
- News From Poland
- 0 Comments
By Robert Strybel
Warsaw Correspondent
March 17, 2024
NATO chief praises Poland’s contribution to the alliance
Speaking during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda at NATO headquarters in Brussels, the alliance’s Danish Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Poland had become a key ally and security provider since joining NATO 25 years ago. “You are building one of the biggest armies in NATO,” Stoltenberg told Duda. “You spend around 4% of GDP on defense, topping the NATO table, and you are adding major capabilities, including F-35s, HIMARS, and helicopters.” He thanked Poland for being one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters and added: “Poland makes the whole alliance stronger, and NATO makes all allies safer.”
Disgruntled farmers converge on Warsaw following blockades
Thousands of irate Polish farmers have converged on Warsaw after weeks of blocking roads with their tractors all over Poland. They were protesting against the cheap, inferior-quality Ukrainian grain and other produce which was to have moved through Poland in transit to the nearest EU port but landed on its domestic market, threatening to drive Polish farmers out of business. They are also opposed to the EU’s radical “Green Deal” which intends to make Europe CO2 neutral by 2050 by restricting livestock production, introducing costlier, less profitable farming methods and imposing pricey electric trucks and tractors. Farmers across the EU have staged similar road-blocking protests.
Duda acknowledges Polonia’s support of Poland’s NATO bid
Polish President Andrzej Duda has warmly acknowledged Polonia’s massive contribution to making Poland’s NATO aspiration a reality. “A lot of hard work had to be done by Polish politicians and diplomats as well as Polonia, the American Polonia in particular,” Duda explained. He was referring to the veritable crusade unleashed by Polish American Congress President Edward Moskal. The White House and Congress were flooded with letters and telegrams of support and many other forms of lobbying went into play. Among the key figures in this effort were numerous PolAm academics and activists to mention only Zbigniew Brzeziński, Jan Nowak, Donald Pienkos, Stanley Blejwas, Helen Wójcik and Les Kuczyński.
New foreign minister Sikorski wants to fire 50 Polish ambassadors
Poland’s top diplomat Radosław Sikorski has announced plans to fire some 50 ambassadors representing Poland at embassies around the world and replace them with the ruling coalition’s hand-picked candidates. He criticized the envoys installed by the previous Law & Justice as inexperienced political appointees with limited diplomatic competence. Asked about Sikorski’s plans, a smiling President Duda told reporters: “No ambassador can be appointed or recalled without the president’s signature.” Duda’s term in office runs until May 2025.
EU to unblock funds withheld to punish Poland over reforms
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen recently came to Warsaw to announce that Brussels would soon begin unblocking payments of up to €137 billion ($148 billion) of aid to Poland. The funds to which Poland was entitled were withheld to punish the country for alleged rule-of-law violations, notably judicial reforms not to the liking of the anti-conservative bloc. The EU boss praised the new government’s efforts to “restore the rule of law”, turning a blind eye to its short-cut, strong-arm tactics which according tot he opposition violate that very principle.
Government wants EU to compensate Poland’s disgruntled farmers
Polish Agriculture Minister Czesław Siekierski was sent to Brussels to ask the EU to help offset some of the losses incurred by Poland’s farmers due to the Ukrainian grain and other produce flooding the domestic market. “We want the EU ton help cover some of the losses our farmers have suffered due to the “uncontrolled inflow of goods” from Ukraine, Siekierski explained. He emphasized that Poland was determined to continue supporting Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion. Besides blocking roads, the farmers have set fire to old tires and stacks of straw filling the area with thick, black smoke. The hand-scrawled sign on one tractors said: “Putin – set Ukraine and the EU straight!”
Gdańsk archbishop elected new head of Poland’s Episcopate
Gdańsk Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda has been elected the new chairman of the Polish Episcopate, replacing Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, 67. His deputy is Wrocław Archbishop Józef Kupny who replaced Gądecki’s deputy, Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski of Kraków. Both outgoing prelates had completed their second five-year terms in office. The new Episcopate heads both represent the Church’s dominant conservative leadership. Leftists have accused Wojda of “homophobia” for saying the LGBT lobby was “imposing immoral practices in the name of pseudo-freedom.”
Poland opposes sending NATO troops to Ukraine
“We do not foresee sending troops to Ukraine,” PM Donald Tusk said in reply to remarks made by the French President. Emmanuel Macron had invited the leaders of over 20 countries to Paris to ramp up support for Ukraine and said he did not rule out sending armed forces to that beleaguered country. “There is no consensus to officially back any ground troops, but nothing should be excluded. We must do everything we can to make sure Russia is defeated. We should not wait for American aid,” he told the meeting. It was the first time a major leader had openly raised the prospect of boots-on-the-ground support for Ukraine.
Glitch forces Duda to switch planes; foul play not suspected
Polish President Andrzej Duda was evacuated from the Boeing 373 on which he was scheduled to return from the US to Europe when a technical problem was detected in the crew’s on-board monitors. Although foul play was not suspected, special precautions are taken whenever a head of state is involved, so Duda received a back-up plane for the return trip and the defective 373 was flown back to Poland without any passengers on board.
Polish national war games part of NATO exercises
Poland has organized national maneuvers code-named Dragon-24 as an offshoot of NATO military exercises. All told, 20,000 troops from such NATO countries as Britain, Spain, Turkey and Albania took part, including 15,000 Poles. The exercises had 3,500 pieces of combat equipment and military vehicles at their disposal.
Navalny’s death sparks anti-Putin outrage in Poland and worldwide
When word of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny’s death reached Poland, votive lamps and flowers appeared outside the Russian Embassy. The Putin regime had tried to poison him, but he was saved by emergency treatment in Germany. After recuperating, he returned to Russia where he was arrested at Moscow airport. Following a kangaroo-court-style trial, he was moved from one penal colony to another, ending up in an Arctic facility, one of Russia’s harshest. He died after strolling in its exercise yard. Although the direct cause of his death was not immediately known, Poland’s new government and opposition in this particular case agreed that he had been killed by the Kremlin regime.
Consumer sentiment is stable but outlook is less positive
Consumer sentiment in Poland remained stable in February compared with January, but the outlook has deteriorated amid worries over household finances and the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine, GUS, Poland’s statistical agency. reported recently. Its Current Consumer Confidence Index, which describes current trends in personal consumption, held steady in February, remaining in negative territory of “minus 12.6” points. The Polish consumers surveyed were more positive about their spending power than a month earlier, and their evaluation of their own financial condition also improved. Compared with February last year, the Current Consumer Confidence Index was 23.4 points higher.
Sejm legalizes “morning after” anti-pregnancy pill for 15-year-olds
The Sejm, the main lawmaking chamber of Poland’s parliament, has passed a measure making a morning-after anti-pregnancy pill available to 15-year-old girls without a prescription. Critics say it will promote under-age promiscuity by removing fear of pregnancy, a major deterrent to early sexual initiation, President Andrzej Duda, whose term in office does not end until May 2025, has said he would not sign into law over-the-counter sales of what he called “a hormonal bomb.”
Abducted Polish woman freed, returns to Poland
A female volunteer from Poland’s Catholic charity Caritas Polska has been flown back to Poland after a week in rebel captivity in the African state of Chad, a former French colony. It was not clear whether the rebels were driven by ideological motives or wanted a ransom, but a captive Mexican volunteer working at the mission managed to escape. Following behind-the-scenes Polish diplomatic efforts, the rebels guarding the woman were attacked and annihilated by a joint force of Chad and French soldiers. The liberated volunteer was soon flown back to Poland, but her name was not published at her family’s request.
Many Poles fear pro-EU government will scrap the złoty
A growing number Poles fear that the new government coalition of Donald Tusk is planning to scrap the złoty and replace it with the bloc’s own currency, the euro (€). Opponents of the move have sent a petition to PM Tusk and his Finance Minister Andrzej Domański which states: “It is with concern and deep indignation we have received successive assurances of politicians alleging the absolute and urgent necessity for our Homeland to adopt the common European currency.” they contend that at a time if widespread inflation that would to handing Poland’ sovereignty over to euro-lobbyists.
Poland, other countries not targeted by Russia — Putin
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said in a recent interview that his country “has no interest in invading Poland, Latvia or anywhere else” and called” suggestions that Moscow might do so “threat mongering.” Putin made the comments during an over two-hour interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, known for his pro-Kremlin sympathies. It was the first interview granted by Putin to a Western journalist since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin also said Russia could not lose the war and that it would fight down to the last bullet.
Tusk government scraps plans to honor Polish genocide victims
The previous Law&Justice government had been planning to create a museum in the eastern city of Chełm honoring victims of the World War II Wołyń massacre. In the hope of creating an independent state, rampaging Ukrainian nationalists went on an ethnic-cleansing rampage slaughtering an estimated 100,000 Poles living in SE Poland’s Wołyń and East Małopolska regions. Since Poland’s new government showed no interest in building the museum, outgoing Culture Minister Piotr Gliński, who had piloted the project, convinced the Chełm City Council to help bankroll the initiative. How the plans unfold remains to be seen.
Regional and local elections set for 7 and 21 April 2024
Local and regional elections are being be held in Poland this sprung on 7 ad 21 April. Voters will go to the polls to vote for the marshals (regional governors) and councilors of 16 voivodeships (provinces), the executives of 308 counties as well the mayors of 65 big cities with county rights and the heads and councils of 2,489 smaller cities, towns and rural jurisdictions. L&J, which lost last October’s parliamentary election to a Tusk-led three-party coalition, was the first to launch its election campaign in a bid to win back some of the cities now controlled by Tusk’s party.
New education minister wants to “progressivize” curriculum
Unlike the previous education minister who was strong on history and worked to instill pride in Poland’s cultural heritage, the schooling of Poland’s youth is now controlled by irreligious left-wing “progressives.” His successor Barbara Nowacka hopes to de-emphasize Poland’s achievements and suffering. Teaching about the three million Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust is OK, but not the three million ethnic Poles killed during World War II. Likely to be omitted are Poland’s acceptance of Christianity in 966 AD, Sienkiewicz’s “Quo Vadis” and Reymont’s “The Peasants” as well as books by Blessed Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Saint John Paul II. Nowacka, the mother of two, lives with her shack-up partner and never intends to get married. Her deputy minister Katarzyna Lubnauer is a declared atheist and pro-LGBT feminist.
Poland challenges and corrects Putin’s lies
According to Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in his first interview with an American journalist since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Putin spouted a series of lies about Poland and Ukraine. In the statement, the Polish Foreign Ministry staid that, contrary to Putin’s claims, Poland did not collaborate with Nazi Germany, nor did it force Adolf Hitler to start World War II. The ministry’s statement also stressed that “today’s Ukraine emerged as a state thanks to the Ukrainian national movement,” rejecting Putin’s claim that it was “an artificial state created by Lenin and Stalin.” When interviewer Tucker Carlson asked if Putin could imagine sending troops into Poland, the dictator replied: “Only in one case – if Poland attacks Russia. Why? Because we have no interest in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else.”
Kidnapped Polish woman freed, returns to Poland
A female volunteer from Poland’s Caritas Polska charity has returned to Poland after a week in rebel captivity in the African state of Chad. It was not clear whether the rebels were driven by ideological motives or wanted a ransom, but a captive Mexican volunteer working at the mission managed to escape on his/her own. Following behind-the-scenes Polish diplomatic efforts, the rebels guarding the woman were attacked and annihilated by a joint force of Chad and French soldiers. Chad had been a French colony. The liberated volunteer was soon flown back to Poland, but her name was not published at her family’s request.
Nearly one-half of Poles fear Russian aggression – survey
According to the latest United Surveys poll, 47.4% of Poles believe that Russia will ultimately want to attack their country. The figure marks an increase of 16% from a similar study in May 2023. Meanwhile, 38.2% of Polish respondents refute the notion of potential aggression by Russian forces in their country, while 14.3% were undecided or had no opinion. When asked about the anticipated outcome of Putin’s the Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine, 47.4% percent of Poles envisioned a protracted conflict leading to both countries’ devastation. of both countries. Only 17.4% percent expressed confidence in Ukraine’s ultimate triumph, and 14.1% said Russia would win the war. With the war now in its third year, only 10 percent of Europeans believe that Ukraine can defeat Russia, according to another survey conducted across 12 European Union countries including Poland.
Does archbishop’s resignation foreshadow end of cover-ups?
Archbishop Andrzej Dzięga of NW Poland’s Szczecin-Kamień Archdiocese resigned recently four years ahead of official retirement age, and failing health was given as the reason. But a turning point occurred when four auxiliary bishops from different dioceses went on social media to express their solidarity with victims of clerical sexual abuse of minors. In the aftermath, Poland’s Apostolic Nunciature (Vatican Embassy) issued a communiqué informing that the real reason was the investigation into Dzięga’s cover-up of a pedophile priest under his jurisdiction. The Catholic weekly Gość Niedzielny (Sunday Visitor) expressed the hope that this marks the end of the coverups which have only provided the Church’s enemies with ammunition.
Chaos thrives during current phase of Polish-Polish War
The cohabitation of the Tusk-led coalition and a president with roots to the former Law & Justice (L&J) administration has led to unprecedented legal turmoil. Legal experts are divided over the legality of the takeover of public media and other measures including the appointment and dismissal of officials. The Constitutional Tribunal has ruled against some of the new coalition’s measures, but Tusk has simply ignored that body, calling its members appointed by Duda pseudo-judges. Two lawmakers pardoned by President Duda have been barred from entering parliament by the new administration. That move was backed by one chamber of the Supreme Court while another chamber ruled that they had not lost their seats and parliamentary immunity. Duda, whose term in office ends in May 2025, has said he would send every bill submitted for his signature to the Constitutional Tribunal for approval.
Fat-cat jobs for party cronies – cornerstone of all politics
Poland’s ruling liberal-left/center-right coalition continues attacking the former L&J administration for giving its cronies fat-cat jobs in state-owned companies while doing the exact same thing at present. According to Jacek Sasin, who was in charge of those firms during L&J’s years in office, the Tusk government’s “recent nominations to controlling jobs in the state-owned sector came from the political cabinets of government ministers, the people of Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski (Tusk’s second in command in the Civic Platform party), CP councilors and activists and those of from Poland 2050 (the CP’s satellite party).” That situation simply reaffirmed the age-old truism that “cronyism” and “holier-than-thou” rhetoric have nearly always been the hallmark of politics most everywhere.
Poland’s Iga Świątek starts week 92 as WTA No. One
ga Świątek, 22, has started her 92nd week at the top of the Women’s Tennis Association’s world rankings, with a 1,380-point lead over her nearest rival. Earlier in February, she won the Qatar Open tournament in Doha for the third consecutive time, claiming her 18th career singles title. In November Iga regained her spot at the top of the world rankings in women’s tennis after winning the season-ending WTA Finals tournament in Mexico.
Polish filmmaker Patryk Vega shoots “Putin” docudrama
Known for his controversial, hard-hitting movies, Poland’s Patryk Vega has created a biography of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin which was filmed in English. The story begins with little Volodya’s troubled childhood at age 10, when he suffered abuse from his stepfather. It includes such Putin milestones as his work for the KGB in East Germany and his quasi-criminal activities as deputy mayor of St Petersburg. It traces his career against through Chechen wars and various crises and shows how his growing popularity and power turned him into an authorian figure that launched a full-scale war on Ukraine. Vega was able to superimpose Putin’s face on the actor playing his role.
