Foreign interference in Poland's election: political pressure from abroad - Part 3

In addition to George Soros's media investments and local NGOs funded by the billionaire, the existence of foreign political pressure was also evident in the Polish election campaign, which led to the leftist-liberal side winning a majority. What happened in Poland foreshadows what Hungarians who insist on self-determination have to brace for.

01 June 2023, Moldova, Bulboaca: Ursula von der Leyen (l), President of the European Commission, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) attend the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Moldova. The EPG was founded last year on French initiative. Its aim is to bring European and Near Eastern states that are not members of the European Union closer to the EU. It has 47 members, including the candidate countries Ukraine, Moldova and Turkey, the applicant country Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa (Photo by KAY NIETFELD / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP) Fotó: AFP/KAY NIETFELD

In our series of articles, we present the foreign influence that was a determining factor in the Polish elections, as there are serious lessons to be had for Hungarian national self-determination. In this third part, we explore the diverse forms of foreign political pressure applied. 

In July, the European Parliament agreed that independent election observers should be sent to Poland for the autumn general elections. MEPs said that the situation of the rule of law in Poland remained poor and that EU recovery funds should be blocked for the time being. At the same time, the EP adopted a new resolution condemning the Polish government. The left-liberal majority institution also expressed concern about amendments to the country's electoral law. It said the changes "could discriminate against voters from abroad" and that the Polish Supreme Court's chamber for electoral disputes "cannot be considered an independent and impartial tribunal".  

Daniel Freund, a German Green Party member of the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control, who also regularly attacks Hungary, added the following to the above in a statement sent to the exclusively US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's media outlet: 

A few months before the election in Poland, the PiS government’s attacks on democracy continue to increase. The European Commission is doing too little to counter these attacks. There are serious fears that the election will not be free and fair. It is shocking that we have to worry about the state of democracy in one of the largest EU Member States. There is no way around election observers.

In light of how the elections were conducted and the subsequent results, it can be concluded with hindsight that the incitement was completely unfounded. 

Back in August of this year, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki interpreted Manfred Weber's words as interference in the Polish parliamentary elections when the head of the EP European People's Party (EPP) group spoke about the "defeating" of the "anti-rule of law" Polish ruling party.

"We've had enough," Morawiecki erupted on the social networking site X - formerly Twitter. "He called us enemies, it's not the first time he's said that. Enough of this," Morawiecki wrote at the time. 

Another important event in the campaign was the so-called visa issue. 

The fact that the European Parliament discussed the left-liberal campaign topic in a general debate, and did it all right before the elections, can also be considered a powerful attempt to intervene.

In addition, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also demanded an explanation on the visa issue, using the narrative and language of the opposition (ie calling it the visa scandal). 

It was also telling that at the EPP summer congress, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen bade farewell to Tusk by saying, "I hope we can welcome you as prime minister next year."

Although this statement in and of itself cannot not considered direct intervention, it is not customary for the Commission to take a position on the internal affairs of a member state in this way.

Especially not when the EU's top bodies have refused to give Poland the EU funds it is entitled to, while Tusk - like the Left in Hungary - campaigned that he would obtain these funds for his country in a single day. 

The pressure in Poland was not unique. It is worth remembering that in a speech at Princeton University in the US last year, Von der Leyen threatened that if Italy finds itself in a difficult situation after the 2022 autumn parliamentary elections, they [the Commission] has the means to deal with it, as it does in the case of Poland and of Hungary.

The then executive vice-president of the European Commission also considered the victory of the right in Italy to be worrying.

Frans Timmermans said that Giorgia Meloni's right-wing alliance is a threat to EU values, adding that he feared the social and moral agenda of the right. 

Last but not least, Volodymyr Zelensky stopped off in Poland on his way home from a visit to the UN and Canada in September, but did not meet a single member of the government. The Ukrainian president did, however, honor two Polish civilians, one of whom is known for his affinity for the opposition, which many have identified as Zelensky's clear picking of sides, especially in light of his grain dispute with the Polish government.

Cover photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Photo: AFP/Kay Nietfeld)