Tusk is to blame for conflicts on Polish-German border, says president-elect
Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki has claimed that Prime Minister Donald Tusk is responsible for the conflicts between nationalist activists patrolling the Polish-German border and officers of the Border Guard, pointing to the government's lack of action.
Just this week, on June 1, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Poland would temporarily reinstate controls on the country's borders with Germany and Lithuania, a move aimed at reducing uncontrolled migration in said regions, but also seen as a direct response to the recent talks of Germany planning to prolong controls on its side of the German-Polish border, which have been in place since 2023.
The spike in illegal migration between Poland and Germany has spurred a wave of criticism towards Donald Tusk's centrist government from right-wing politicians, including socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who claimed that Germany had been regularly pushing illegal migrants into Poland and demanded stronger action.
In addition, activists linked to the so-called Border Defence Movement, founded by the nationalist leader Robert Bakiewicz, have been spotted near the Polish-German border claiming that they are monitoring for unlawful crossings, despite lacking any official authorisation to carry out such activities.
After a press conference on Thursday, when Nawrocki was asked by reporters about his stance on Bakiewicz's movement, the president-elect thanked him for his "civic duty at the border."
"I am very saddened that the Polish state has failed to handle the crisis on the border for several months now," he said. "It has failed, because Germany has been sending undocumented migrants to Poland; Polish citizens have been reacting to this and for that I thank them."
In his view, the one responsible for the conflicts between the citizens and Border Guard, is Donald Tusk. "This is a case of the 'divide et impera' (divide and conquer - PAP) strategy," he said.
According to him, "the Polish borders will be secure" after August 6, the date set for his anticipated swearing-in ceremony as president of Poland. "A president who will ensure the safety of Polish borders is on the way," he said. (PAP) mj/jch
