Carrying Polish flags and marching through the streets of the capital, thousands of demonstrators expressed their opposition to illegal migration and Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition.
The event’s main organiser and president of Law and Justice, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, spoke at a rally before the protest began, appealing to participants not to trust the prime minister’s words, calling them “old games”.
“I said there would be no relocation of migrants in Poland and there won’t be! It’s a done deal. That we will seal the barrier on the border with Belarus – and it is the best-guarded border in Europe today. That we will tighten visa and asylum laws – and Poland has become a model for others. We are doing, not talking!” the Prime Minister wrote on X prior to the rally.
Just hours later, Kaczynski responded at the match.
“Today Donald Tusk, who not so long ago said that Poland would have to be punished for the fact that our government [Law and Justice] was able ensure that this agreement did not enter into force at that time […] Today, all of a sudden he announces that next year we will not have immigration [in Poland],” Kaczynski said.
“Don’t be fooled, these are old games,” he added.
Kaczyński called for an end to the Tusk government.
“We must dismiss Tusk, away with Tusk. We must rebuild everything that this government has managed to destroy,” Kaczyński said to the crowd of demonstrators.
The gathering was also attended by several other Law and Justice politicians, including former Prime Ministers Beata Szydło and Mateusz Morawiecki and former Defence Ministry chief Mariusz Blaszczak.
In her speech at the rally, Szydło called for the unity of conservative society and challenged the Prime Minister’s words.
“We must unite as a white and red team and we must invite those who see what is happening in Poland today and are worried about their future,” Szydło said.
“Today is the time when we must be together. You can’t believe Tusk, but you also can’t believe those who govern in the European Union” – she added.
Asking those gathered whether they believed that Poland would not be bound by the migration pact, she said: “It is as if you believe Angela Merkel, who, when bringing this disaster to Europe, said that everything would be under control.”
