The Polish Government spokesman, Piotr Müller, has slammed the leader of the European People’s Party (EPP) for interfering in Poland’s national election process.
“The European People’s Party is attempting to exert influence on the result of the Polish elections by means of external factors,” Müller stormed.
His anger came after a recent interview in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), where German MEP, Manfred Weber, was quoted as saying that only his EPP party could bring Poland back into the European mainstream – by ousting the current ruling Conservative PiS party.
Weber told FAZ that the EPP had been supporting “a path which excludes radicals”, adding that AfD, the Right-wing populist political party in Germany, and Marie Le Pen, leader of France’s National Rally, were the EPP’s main political enemies. However, he then suggested that he saw the PiS, a key member of the European Conservative Reformers (ECR) group, in a similar light.
Weber said there were three conditions the EPP attached to potential cooperation with any party; such a group had to be “for Europe, for Ukraine and for the rule of law”. He argued that was a way to target the PiS and that the EPP, which includes Poland’s main Liberal opposition PO party as a member, was the only force capable of bringing down the PiS and “leading the country back to Europe”.
However, according to Müller, as well as the EPP trying to influence proceedings in Poland, it is also “attempting to apply pressure within EU institutions”.
He claimed there were other German politicians aside from Weber who wanted PiS rule to end in Poland, adding: “I can understand such expectations as the PiS government policies have been very assertive in the face of Germany’s attempts to impose its policy in the EU institutions.”
Poland and Germany have clashed regularly within the European Union on issues such as migration, climate policy, nuclear power and Russia. The two are also at loggerheads over the German proposal to scrap the principle of unanimous decision-making regarding EU foreign and security policy.
Müller added to the list a dispute about compensation Poland wants from Germany over the Second World War: “PiS is a political party which demands war reparations, and this surely is what German politicians do not like.”
Last autumn, Poland submitted a €1.3 trillion claim for reparations regarding damage caused by German occupation and aggression during the war. Germany has rejected the demand.
The PiS government has also been embroiled in a rule-of-law dispute with Brussels that has led to it being sanctioned by the European Court of Justice, and the EC withholding its post-pandemic EU funds. The measures taken against Poland have been supported by the country’s Liberal opposition, led by Donald Tusk.
That in turn has spurred the PiS to argue that the measures form part of an orchestrated campaign to bring down the Conservative Polish government and replace it with one led by Tusk.
Tusk was a close ally of the former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Her backing was instrumental in Tusk securing the office of President of the European Council from 2014-2019. He was also the leader of the EPP between 2019 and 2022 before being replaced by Weber.
