In a Gazeta.pl podcast, Aleksander Kwaśniewski comments on accusations of PiS being pro-Russian and points out the exaggeration in the narrative about Russian intelligence operations in Poland.
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Podcast Interview with Kwaśniewski
In today’s fragment, a short topic. I was listening to a podcast on Spotify: Aleksander Kwaśniewski: everyone is accusing everyone of being an agent where the former president stated that the current witch hunt and mass accusations of people being Russian agents are part of political warfare, and one cannot say that Law and Justice is pro-Russian or, as I understood, controlled by Russia.
Aleksander Kwaśniewski: We’ll see what the outcome will be. However, the issue of Russian agents in Poland is, in my opinion, being exaggerated. Everyone is accusing everyone of being a Russian agent. You might get the impression that in Poland there are almost no non-agents and that everyone is someone’s agent, which is of course nonsense […]
This is an exaggeration. Campaigns have the characteristic that everyone sharpens their arguments to reach people and stir emotions. However, saying that part of PiS is pro-Russian could be a topic for discussion because undoubtedly PiS’s actions, like marginalizing Poland’s position in the European Union, objectively serve Russian interests. Weakening the EU also serves Russian interests. So, in this sense, one could say that perhaps unknowingly, some of the actions taken by PiS were close to the expectations or interests of Russia, as we know them. However, I caution against stigmatizing with labels like “agent”, “Russian agent”, or “traitors” source
Noteworthy Statements
I wanted to note in today’s fragment that despite the media revelations in recent weeks, the former President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski does not consider the Law and Justice party to be overtly pro-Russian or controlled, or in any sense dependent on the Kremlin, for example, through Russian intelligence operations. Instead, he views such claims as conspiracy theories and elements of political warfare. I think this is an interesting perspective worth noting because it contrasts with what is happening now. It may also be the result of a good strategy currently employed by PiS, which is to reduce accusations and debates to absurdity to dilute the allegations.
Sources
Spotify - Aleksander Kwaśniewski: everyone is accusing everyone of being an agent