– In times of war, Poland should have a president who has experience in the field of international security and has the ability to unite Poles with both liberal and conservative sensibilities – said Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski. However, he refused to answer the question about his candidacy in the presidential elections.
At a press conference in Olsztyn, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski he was asked how he saw himself as a “presidential candidate.” – I will refrain from answering here – he said. However, he added that “in these times of war, Poland should have a president who has experience in the field of international security.”
In his opinion, the head of state should also have “the ability to unite Poles with both liberal and conservative sensibilities.” – We need more national harmony, not less – he said.
The Civic Coalition has not yet officially named a presidential candidate for next year's elections. Radosław Sikorski is – next to the president of Warsaw, the deputy head of PO Rafał Trzaskowski – mentioned as one of the potential candidates. Donald Tusk announced that he would not take part in the presidential race.
Rafał Trzaskowski was a guest of “Tak jest” on Thursday and spoke on TVN24 about his chances to run. READ MORE >>>
“Populism already ruled our country and we won against it”
On Thursday, during a meeting with the inhabitants of Olsztyn, Radosław Sikorski was asked about the threat of populists coming to power in the largest European countries – France and GermanyWhere polls point to the growing popularity of right-wing, populist and Eurosceptic parties such as the French National Assembly Marine Le Pen or Alternative for Germany (AfD).
– We are an inspiration in the sense that populism already ruled our country and we won with it. They ask us: “how did you do it?” It's not just France or Germany. Brexit was the result of populism – Sikorski emphasized, recalling that the slogan of supporters of Great Britain's exit from the European Union was “restore control” – which, as he assessed, was analogous to the slogans used by populists in Poland.
– Populism is a promise of finding easy solutions to difficult problems – said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – The topics are the same everywhere: migration, culture war, issues of war and peace, identity issues, but also women's safety, technical progress – he mentioned.
According to him, “populist parties arise when the so-called mainstream does not appreciate or disregards a topic, an issue that people consider important – for example, migration.” Sikorski said that in such a situation, “the wise establishment identifies the problem and solves it using civilized methods as far as possible.” – This is what we do in Poland – he assured.
The minister warned that populism “is a threat to the European order, because together with what populists have identified as a real pain, sometimes you can get cool things.” – They can sometimes be dangerous, but in a democracy, in the end, we, politicians, have to do what the people want – added the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sikorski on the migration crisis. “We have the right to decide who enters and who does not”
Minister Sikorski also referred to the ongoing issue at the EU's external borders migration crisisincluding on the Polish border with Belarus and with the Russian Königsberg Oblast.
– Putin and Lukashenko are sending us here people from – literally – Middle Eastern prisons. They have no right to enter the European Union. We have the right to decide who enters and who does not, he said.
He recalled that Poland's current agreement with Russia regarding local border traffic at the Polish border with the Königsberg Oblast has been suspended for several years. – I don't see any reason to suspend this contract at the moment. This is not the moment. As long as Putin is waging imperial wars, we will not introduce any simplifications, he announced.