A flag‑bearing protester in Warsaw hurled harsh insults at Prime Minister Donald Tusk, as Law and Justice supporters banged drums and demanded punishment for what they called betrayal.
Protester hurls insults at Tusk
A man holding a long pole with a flag walked among the gathered crowd and repeatedly shouted harsh curses at Donald Tusk. A co‑participant tried to calm him and said she also dislikes the prime minister, but did not endorse such insults, arguing that sometimes one should bite one’s own tongue. The protester did not relent, and when asked why Tusk was “so terrible,” he replied in a single sentence that Tusk had betrayed the homeland and that betrayal should be met with only one punishment.
Kaczyński’s Saturday rally addresses migration and his government
Jarosław Kaczyński’s protest at Warsaw’s Castle Square had been announced at the end of the previous evening. In the summer, the migration issue was hotly debated; the western border was patrolled by activists of the Border Defence Movement led by Robert Bąkiewicz, while right‑wing politicians and media criticised migrants whom German services were expected to transfer to Poland. Bąkiewicz was the last speaker at the Saturday demonstration, and Kaczyński called him a “hero of the fight for Poland’s border.” In recent weeks, the emotional intensity around migration has faded, but the Saturday protest was still aimed at Poland’s entire Tusk‑led government. Participants shouted “Red pig to Berlin” and “Tusk annihilates the Polish state” before the demonstration began.
Critics charge Tusk with betraying the country
During the protest, a Law and Justice sympathiser from Suwałki said: “He does nothing for Poland. Covid and the war were caused by PiS, and now they only keep us indebted.” A councilor from Oleśnica named Dawid Jankowski explained that the protest was “against the entirety of Tusk’s governments.” He listed illegal migration, the Mercosur agreement, and health‑education policy as “the most scandalous” topics and urged attendees to stop the madness and prevent Tusk from continuing his disastrous policies.
Border‑defence activists push for a stop to migration pact
The Border Defence Movement was present, identifiable by green vests. Its members urged the crowd to sign the “stop migration pact” and argued that every patriot is a defender of today’s borders. One activist warned that the movement would halt a “hybrid war by Germany” and that Polish people should not be oppressed. The movement’s spokesperson claimed that Poland would be released from migrant relocation, and Kaczyński quickly answered that it was merely a political game aimed at winning upcoming elections, often backed by the European Union leadership.
Confederates display anti‑immigration banner at Castle Square
Confederates, who also attended the protest, carried a banner stating that the PiS government had issued 366,000 visas to immigrants from Africa and Asia. They praised the fledgling coalition and warned against the potential crushing of Poles and “soft cake” that could be turned into a “free, sovereign, strong Poland.” The protest ended without a high turnout, but the Confederates’ presence highlighted the anti‑migration sentiment circulating among right‑wing participants.
