Donald Tusk is a close ally of Ursula von der Leyen (Image: Getty)
Donald Tusk, Poland’s Brussels-aligned Prime Minister, has been accused of taking his country back to the “brutal days of communism” with his controversial decision to take control of state broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP).
And tensions are steadily mounting, with one politician announcing he was going on hunger strike in protest, and a massive demonstration organised by right-wing opponents in the Law and Justice Party (PiS) scheduled for today.
On Tuesday, Polish police arrested two members of the Sejm, the lower house in the nation’s bicameral legislature, after they were convicted of abuse of power.
Former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his former deputy Maciej Wasik had both taken refuge for hours in the palace of President Andrzej Duda, of whom Mr Tusk has been sharply critical.
The pair were described by leaders including former Prime Minister and PiS Vice President Mateusz Morawiecki as Poland’s first political prisoners since 1989.
READ MORE: EU crony Donald Tusk accused of trying to destroy Polish democracy
Supporters of former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his deputy Maciej Wasik (Image: Getty)
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Mr Morawiecki, ousted as his country’s leader after October’s general election, declared: “For the first time since the dark days of totalitarian rule, we have political prisoners in Poland.
“The entire process took place in flagrant violation of the rule of law.”
Referring to the controversial media takeover, which saw TVP taken off air, he added: “Imagine a Minister illegally dismissing the BBC board. Now imagine he replaces them with his own people.
“Then imagine that news channel is closed down. That is what has been happening in Poland in recent days. We are witnessing an unprecedented attack on the rule of law.
Mariusz Kaminski says he is now on hunger strike (Image: Getty)
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“Tusk's government decided it could take over public television and media by force. This has nothing to do with democratic standards. We have not seen such brutal government action since communism.”
Beata Szyd？o, also a PiS Vice President and former PM, added: “Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik are symbols of the fight against corruption and other pathologies of the Third Polish Republic.
“For this reason, they focused the hatred of the pseudo-elites who preyed and want to continue preying on Poland and Poles. Now they are the first political prisoners of Tusk's regime.”
PiS will stage a Protest for Free Poles rally outside the Sejm in the capital, Warsaw, at 4pm local time, which it hopes will be attended by tens of thousands of people from across the country.
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Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's former Prime Minister (Image: Getty)
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Confirming his protest in a statement issued yesterday, Mr Kaminski said: “I declare that I treat my conviction for fighting corruption and the taking of illegal actions to deprive me of my parliamentary mandate as an act of political revenge.
“Therefore, as a political prisoner, I have started a hunger protest since the first day of my imprisonment.”
One UK-based observer with an in-depth understanding of the situation told Express.co.uk the situation had implications for Britain.
They explained: “There is a dangerous political proxy war playing out in Poland and we better wake up to it.
“In one corner is the newly elected pro-EU coalition of parties led by Donald Tusk (of the “there must be a special place in hell for Brexiteers” fame) and in the other, the former governing Euro-sceptic party Law and Justice (PiS).”
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They added: “To make matters more complex, Tusk did not win the popular vote in the recent general election. He governs via a coalition. PiS won the most votes but had to vacate office. And if that were not complicated enough, the President of Poland, Duda, is a member of PiS. The Polish Executive, without a clear popular mandate is at odds with the Polish Head of State.
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“The EU trumpets the importance of democracy, but it took Tusk only a few minutes to liquidate the state broadcaster. He accused it of biased reporting in support of his political opponents. That sort of accusation is more akin to a banana republic.”
Speaking at a press conference, also on Tuesday, Mr Tusk, who favours much closer ties with the European Union, claimed Mr Duda was obstructing justice by giving the wanted men refuge.
He read out a section of the penal code which he alleges Mr Duda had violated, and which carries a prison term from three months to five years, adding: “I just want the president to be aware of what his political friends have tricked him into.”
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