Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki sparked controversy during his visit to Lithuania, where he awarded two controversial Lithuanian politicians of Polish origin with medals.
Waldemar Tomaszewski and Stanisław Pieszko are considered controversial figures in Lithuania, with some accusing them of undermining Lithuania’s national interests and of having a pro-Russian approach. Still, both are prominent activists of the Polish community in Lithuania.
“I was shocked,” publicist Rimvydas Valatka told European Pravda, calling Morawiecki’s decision “incomprehensible.”
He added that it was as if Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė awarded communist agents that murdered Jerzy Popiełuszko, a Catholic priest associated with the solidarity movement that played a central role in the end of communist rule in Poland.
The incident took place as Morawiecki visited Lithuania last week. In Vilnius, he met Šimonytė and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and participated in the opening of the new wing of the Polish Culture House in the Lithuanian capital.
Mayor of Vilnius, Robert Duchniewicz, pointed out that Pieczko, one of the politicians awarded by the Polish prime minister as a member of parliament, abstained from the vote on Lithuania regaining independence.
Most Lithuanian commentators do not blame Morawiecki, though. Morawiecki’s advisors made a mistake, said Czesław Okińczyc, a Lithuanian lawyer of Polish nationality.
Andrzej Pukszto, Lithuanian historian and policy scientist of Polish origin, interviewed by the ELTA press agency, does not expect Morawiecki’s act to have severe consequences for the relations between Warsaw and Vilnius.
As Poland plays an important role in Europe and the region these times, he called the incident “a misunderstanding,” which nevertheless “cannot be ignored.”
He went as far as to suggest that the decoration of controversial politicians may have been orchestrated by somebody from the Polish ruling camp or Prime Minister’s office to discredit Morawiecki amid the election campaign in Poland.
Parliamentary elections in Poland will occur in either October or early November, with the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party having a high chance of securing a third consecutive term in power.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, was due to discuss the incident at a meeting with the new Polish ambassador to Lithuania, but no subsequent statement was forthcoming.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl)
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