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WARSAW — The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda said He will sign a controversial law on Monday invoice the creation of a commission to investigate Russian influence in Polish politics that could ban him from public office for a decade.
Duda and the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party say it is an effort to root out Kremlin agents in Poland, but the opposition warns the commission is aimed at harassing political rivals, especially Donald Tusk, a former prime minister minister and president of the European Council who heads the opposition Civic Platform party, ahead of key parliamentary elections this autumn.
The decision is likely to worsen already strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels as the European Commission freezes billions in EU pandemic recovery cash over concerns that the Polish government is backing down on democratic principles of the bloc.
The commission’s law was narrowly approved by the Polish parliament on Friday afternoon after a heated debate; Duda’s decision to quickly sign it into law dashed hopes that he would distance himself from the law.
Duda said he would also send the law for review by the Constitutional Court — a higher court dominated by PiS loyalists — but that would not prevent the commission from starting work.
“People have a right to know,” Duda said in a broadcast to announce his decision, adding: “The public should form their own opinion about how … those elected in the general election … understood the interests of the Republic of Poland, if those interests were to be execute correctly”.
Angry opposition
The opposition denounced the commission as a political weapon designed to deal with PiS rivals ahead of an election it could lose.
“President Andrzej Duda has seriously weakened our country today, internally and externally; has decided to unleash a Polish civil war.” said Szymon Hołownia, head of the opposition party Poland 2050.
Borys Budka, one of the leaders of the Civic Platform, warned that anyone joining the commission should be prosecuted.
“This commission is not supposed to explain anything, decide anything, judge anything, it’s just supposed to be a hammer against the opposition,” he said. said.
Left opposition party he called for Duda to be brought before the State Court, a body that is supposed to judge politicians.
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“You did something absolutely shameful for democracy in our country,” said left-wing leader Włodzimierz Czarzasty.
The commission has also been singled out by the United States, Poland’s key NATO military ally.
“The U.S. government shares concerns about laws that could appear to allow the prevention of voters’ ability to vote for candidates of their choice outside of a clearly defined process in independent courts,” said the U.S. ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski. he said polish tv
The commission of nine members will be chosen by the parliament where the PiS has a narrow majority; several opposition parties have said they will boycott the proceedings.
It will examine actions that took place “under Russian influence” from 2007 to 2022, a period covering the 2007-2015 governments of the Tusk-led Civic Platform party, as well as the current PiS administration.
Critics say the commission violates the constitution because its operation is not precisely defined, its verdicts are final, and commission members are shielded from criminal liability. All of the country’s intelligence, police, prosecutors and other official agencies are mandated to cooperate with him, and there is no set procedure for deciding who will investigate.
It can decide to ban people for 10 years from jobs that involve spending public funds, which would prevent them from running for office.
“Duda has signed a law that allows parliament to create a commission that will usurp the functions of the courts, prosecutors and special services.” he tweeted Ben Stanley, associate professor at Warsaw University of Social Sciences and Humanities, added: “There is a profound irony in the bill, ostensibly seeking to investigate Russian influence in Polish public life while providing for the creation from a kangaroo court directly from the Putinist ideology”.
The government insists it has no hidden agenda.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, adding: “Why is this dear opposition of ours, especially Mr. Tusk, so afraid of a commission to verify Russian influence?”
Although both PiS and Plataforma Cívica have their roots in the Solidarity trade union that shook the communist government in the 1980s, PiS has tried to portray its rivals as sell-out communist sympathizers, while downplaying the number of high PiS members who also served in the Communist Party.
PiS has denounced Tusk’s long-term gas deal, but the country was a major buyer of Russian coal until the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year and continued to buy crude from the Russian pipeline until Moscow turned off the taps in February.
Tusk has called for people to hold a mass protest in Warsaw on June 4, the anniversary of the partially free elections in 1989 that ended communist rule in Poland.
“This is no longer a one-party demonstration, it’s about national security. Our politicians will be involved,” Hołownia said.
This article has been updated with a statement from the US Ambassador.
