US Ambassador Thomas Rose suspended official ties with Polish Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty after Czarzasty opposed Trump’s Nobel nomination.
Diplomatic Rift
On Thursday, February 5, US Ambassador to Poland Thomas Rose announced he was suspending official contacts with Sejm Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty. The move followed Czarzasty’s refusal to support a Nobel Prize nomination for US President Donald Trump, whom Czarzasty deemed undeserving, and criticism of Trump’s policies by the Polish politician.
Rose stated, “We will not allow anyone to harm Polish-American relations or show disrespect to Donald Trump, who has done so much for Poland and Poles.”
PiS Demands Resignation
Law and Justice (PiS) MP Sebastian Kaleta called the severed ties with Poland’s second-highest official a “major embarrassment” for the ruling coalition. He accused Czarzasty of irresponsibly endangering national interests and demanded his resignation, questioning whether Americans knew more about a Kremlin-linked Russian in Czarzasty’s circle.
PiS MP Łukasz Kmita argued that Prime Minister Donald Tusk must choose between the West and removing Czarzasty or defending him for political gain, risking conflict with the Trump administration. Dominika Wielowieyska of “Gazeta Wyborcza” and TOK FM questioned if the US ambassador should dismiss the Sejm Marshal, while Adrian Zandberg retorted, “Poland is not a colony.”
Opposition Response
Civic Platform (KO) MP Roman Giertych sent a formal declaration to the ambassador, condemning his stance as “brazen.” Giertych emphasized that Sejm-elected representatives, not foreign diplomats, appoint Polish authorities, adding that while good US-Poland relations are desired, ambassadors cannot dictate the nation’s governance.
Media Analysis
TVN24’s Patryk Michalski noted PiS politicians had not moved to oust Czarzasty until the US ambassador’s post, highlighting that Sejm rules require a formal 46-deputy proposal to dismiss the Marshal. Onet’s Kamil Dziubka criticized PiS’s “servility” towards the US, contrasting it with past ambassador conduct.
Party Slurs
PiS leaders uniformly attacked Czarzasty. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called him an “old commie” sabotaging Poland’s security with the US, while Janusz Kowalski alleged this post-communist was aligning Poland with Russia against US interests. Maciej Wąsik labeled Czarzasty a “commie with a razor,” Dominik Tarczyński claimed “communists always harmed Poland,” and Mariusz Błaszczak accused him of reconciling with Russians while alienating Americans.
Diplomatic Relations
RMF FM US correspondent Paweł Żuchowski reported the ambassador’s announcement caused “great surprise” in government circles, arguing ambassadors shouldn’t limit contact with a nation’s second-highest official. Marcin Wrona condemned punishing dissent as censorship of free speech. Polish-US ties remain strong despite the dispute, sources close to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed.
