Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the Law and Justice opposition party (PiS) and former Prime Minister, has heavily criticized current Prime Minister Donald Tusk for making mistakes in negotiations with the United States over the anti-missile defence project.
“Where is Tusk now? Why has he run from these problems?” asked Kaczynski at a Friday afternoon press conference, adding that the decision of President Barack Obama to resign from the planned project signed with Poland and the Czech Republic under the George W. Bush administration is Tusk’s failure.
Kaczynski accused Tusk of utter incompetence and claims that the head of government is responsible for a “very huge political mistake” because he did not do everything possible to avoid the American change in plans.
“No one honest can say that the US decision would have happened if Donald Tusk had carried out a different kind of politics,” stated the head of PiS, adding that “but one can also wholeheartedly say that Donald Tusk did everything possible so it would not work out.”
The former Prime Minister condemned Tusk for not having secured ratification of the anti-missile defense contract by Polish parliament.
Adam Bielan, European MP, also of PiS, commented that “Donald Tusk could not have done anything more. “I would point to the mistakes of last year, namely that it took too long to negotiate a contract. Had negotiations been more sophisticated, perhaps Obama would not have withdrawn.”
The head of PiS claims that the Thursday announcement was planned and deliberate. “This date was not accidental. It shows Poland disrespect,” stated Kaczynski. “I am in this debate and I will be on the Polish side. And Polish-American relations are, today, very bad. It is not an accident, an unfortunate event. It’s about making a particularly unpleasant decision,” added the former PM.
“There is still the question of the argument over genocide,” added Kaczynski, commenting on the public discussion surrounding the anniversary of 17 September and the debate as to whether or not the Katyn massacre was a genocide or had characteristics of genocide.
The former PM added that “the institution of such an argument by Donald Tusk has concrete consequences. Recently, the football team Lechia Gdansk was fined for allowing fans to display a banner with ’17 September 1939 – IV dissection’ on it. It’s as though we are retreating into a pre-1989 atmosphere.” (mmj)