The Polish law on the investigation of "Russian influences on internal security" has met with sharp criticism at home and abroad. The law, the signing of which President Andrzej Duda announced on Monday, provides for a commission that can retroactively punish former officials for alleged "Russian influences" on their actions and prohibit them from holding public office. Critics call the law "Lex Tusk" because it is directed primarily against former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who will run as the opposition's top candidate in the autumn elections.
Gerhard Gnauck
Political correspondent for Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, based in Warsaw.
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EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders expressed "particular concern" on Tuesday; action will be taken against the law if necessary. Reynders criticised the fact that victims of this commission could not appeal against their decisions before an independent judge. The fact that the EU Commission is making such an early statement is unusual, but it shows how seriously it takes the process. Earlier, the US State Department had criticized that the law could be "misused to interfere in Poland's free and fair elections." The commission "could be used to block the candidacy of opposition politicians without due process. We call on the government of Poland to ensure that this law does not prevent voters from voting for the candidates of their choice."
The American ambassador in Warsaw praised the fact that President Duda has at least decided to refer the law to the Constitutional Court for clarification of legal concerns. However, this move is unlikely to change anything in the short term. Duda's foreign policy adviser Marcin Przydacz rejected the criticism from Washington: "I am surprised." Poland's Foreign Ministry said in a long statement that it sees no threat to free elections from the law, "on the contrary, thanks to it, public opinion will have better access to things essential to national security."
According to reports, there is already a fierce dispute in the government camp over the very vulnerable law. In protest against this, two professors, Stanisław Mazur and Krzysztof Pyrć, withdrew from expert committees appointed by Duda on Tuesday. The portal onet.pl wrote that as early as 2022, "PiS experts went into the archives of several ministries" to find incriminating material about the previous government's Russia policy from today's perspective.
The main victim, Donald Tusk himself, is self-confident. They will show the public "when and on whom the Russians actually exerted influence," he said, alluding to non-transparent contacts with Russia by PiS politicians. At the same time, Tusk campaigned for a long-planned large pro-democracy rally on Sunday in Warsaw.