PiS’ anti-German rhetoric in Polish election bothers Berlin

The German government has remained largely unimpressed with Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), making anti-German sentiment one of the cornerstones of its election campaign.

The national conservative PiS is facing a tight race in the upcoming Polish general elections next Sunday, which it risks losing for the first time since 2015. The party did not shy away from alienating allies and risking its relationship with Ukraine and Germany to sway undecided voters.

“Germany openly supported the opposition of the current government and clearly tried to influence the outcome of the Polish elections,” PiS MP Iwona Kurowska told Euractiv.

Accusing Germany of interfering in Polish politics has become a common trope in the election campaign. One of PiS’ TV ads even accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of attempting to actively influence Polish politics, suggesting that voting for PiS was the only way to avert German hegemony in the EU.

“The balance of power in the EU is unequal, with some countries having more to say than others. We are not hostile to Germany. We want to cooperate but on equal terms,” Radosław Fogiel, former PiS spokesman and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Polish parliament, told Euractiv.

In its rhetoric, PiS also aimed its main contender, Donald Tusk of the Civic Platform, by attempting to link him to Germany to discredit his bid to dethrone Poland’s ruling party.

According to Kurowska, Tusk shows “submission to Berlin and Brussels.” If he were to win, it would be uncertain if Poland would be able to remain “sovereign”, she added.

Germany unimpressed

Berlin is well aware of PiS’ intentions, but the political manoeuvre is primarily seen as an attempt to sway voters rather than being rooted in the actual relationship between the two countries.

“The incumbent [Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw] Kaczynski invokes a narrative that catches on in parts of the Polish population: The narrative of a Germany that wants to impose its own ideas of order on Poland,” Chantal Kopf, MP and EU affairs spokesperson of the governing Greens told Euractiv.

However, Germany has so far remained relatively cautious and has not yet openly reacted to the frequent political attacks by its Eastern neighbour.

“Election campaigns in Poland are sometimes conducted in quite shrill tones, as Ukraine recently experienced,” Alexander Müller, liberal deputy chairman of the German-Polish group in the Bundestag, also said.

“This ritual is nothing new, however, and is also familiar from other countries such as the Czech Republic, where Miloš Zeman won the 2013 presidential election against Karel Schwarzenberg with a decidedly anti-German campaign,” the lawmaker of the liberal FDP told Euractiv.

This sentiment was also echoed by the Green coalition partner.

While the Greens’ Kopf also stressed she would be “worried” about the usage of anti-German sentiments, she emphasised that the controversial statements by the PiS party are perceived as “election campaign slogans that are far removed from the reality of the long-standing German-Polish relationship.”

Strained relationship?

While the relationship between Poland and Germany has hit a new low in the current election campaign, Berlin remains cooperative towards Poland.

“Such theatrical thunder, however, does not lead to lasting strains on relations between our countries,” Müller, the liberal MP, stated.

“The great freedoms we enjoy on our continent thanks to the EU […] have allowed such strong bonds to grow between Germans, Poles and other nations that our relations are very resilient,” he added.

German lawmakers also say that relations between the two countries are much better than is often portrayed publicly. In particular, Germany has sought closer cooperation with Poland through the Weimar Triangle, a political forum between France, Germany and Poland to reconcile European and international issues.

According to Kopf, the Weimar Triangle exemplifies how Germany “strives for a good and fruitful exchange” with Warsaw.

“As large states in the heart of Europe, we must take joint responsibility for our continent,” she said.

(Oliver Noyan | Euractiv.de, Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)