The US ramped up its criticism of a new law that allows Poland’s ruling party to probe opposition leader Donald Tusk, saying the legislation could be misused to interfere with a tightly contested election this year.
(Bloomberg) — The US ramped up its criticism of a new law that allows Poland’s ruling party to probe opposition leader Donald Tusk, saying the legislation could be misused to interfere with a tightly contested election this year.
Hours after President Andrzej Duda approved the creation of a special parliamentary panel to investigate Russia’s meddling in Poland between 2007 and 2022, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US shares the concerns “expressed by many observers” that the panel “could be used to block the candidacy of opposition politicians without due process.”
The law threatens to damage Warsaw’s relations with the US at the time when Poland has become the main gateway for aid and arms sent to Ukraine since Russian invasion began last year. The US has deployed 10,000 troops into Poland, an eastern NATO member state that President Joe Biden visited twice in less than a year.
The government in Warsaw has also sought to forge close economic ties with the US, including a deal to build the country’s first nuclear power plant and numerous orders for military equipment.
The new legislation grants the investigating committee unprecedented powers, including the ability to effectively prevent officials from pursuing public office, bypassing the regular court system. Critics said the panel aims to discredit and potentially bar key opposition politicians from taking part in October’s elections and marks a further erosion of democratic standards by this government.
“We call on the government of Poland to ensure this law does not preempt voters’ ability to vote for candidate of their choice and that it not be invoked or abused in ways that could affect the perceived legitimacy of elections,” Miller said in the statement.
Duda argued the new law is needed to explain the scale of Russia’s influence in Poland, which he described as a fact.
“Public opinion has to make up its own mind over the actions of the representatives they choose in the general election,” he told reporters.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law & Justice party, has for years accused Tusk — his main political rival — of tolerating Russian influence during his tenure as prime minister before 2015.
Parliamentary lawyers have attacked the law as a violation of European Union rules, while the country’s human rights ombudsman said parts of it violate the constitution.
Tusk said the law intends to “eliminate” the government’s biggest potential rival in upcoming elections and called its backers “cowards.”
The move places the issue of alleged Russian meddling front and center amid campaigning. The government has blamed Russia for everything from spreading misinformation to being behind high inflation since the onset of war in Ukraine.
Duda said that while he’s signing the bill into law, he will also ask the country’s top court to review it, citing doubts some have over its compliance with the constitution.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.