Poland’s prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, claims that most of the nation’s media is in the hands of post-communist oligarchs and it is no surprise that his government gets a bad press. Asked by journalists from the Rzeczpospilita daily - a media outlet generally supportive of the government - if according to him the main publishing houses such as Axel Springer, Edipresse, and Agora are controlled by the oligarchs, the PM replied:
“To my knowledge, to a large measure, yes. In the case of Agora [publishers of a main opponent of the government,
Gazeta Wyborcza] there’s also an intensively ideological factor. This circle has a strong will for ideological planning, which was successful for many years, with disastrous effects for Poland. But to be clear – I am afraid that Agora’s financial relations with the oligarchy in Poland also exist.”
Asked by journalists if he is intentionally creating a bad relationship with the media to build a political polarization in the country, the PM replied that this was not the case and that he has no doubts.
“The bad press [of his government] is a consequence of a bad relationship between my government and the oligarchs. A great majority of the media is in fact under control of the oligarchs.” (
photo: Jakub Szymczuk)