Blocking ambassadorial nominations, especially in these very sensitive places, is a mistake, said former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski on TVN24. The guest of “Kropka nad i” assessed that Andrzej Duda's action “is weakening the Polish state, exposing us to ridicule.” – I am reporting such a serious alert that it is high time for the candidates of the democratic majority to appear – he also commented on the lack of candidates in next year's presidential elections. – A long “full-blooded campaign” is needed throughout the country and time is running out – he emphasized.
Head of government Donald Tusk In his Thursday entry on the X platform, he referred to the issue of staffing Polish diplomatic missions.
“The fact that President Duda continues to block ambassadorial nominations in countries such as the USA, Israel, Ukraine or NATO is extremely irresponsible,” Tusk said. “I asked, I explained – everything was pure and simple. I know, there are only 299 days left, but it's 299 too many. Stay safe, President!” – he appealed in the entry.
READ MORE: : Tusk on Duda's “extremely irresponsible” attitude. The president responded and Sikorski joined in
He addressed this issue in Thursday's edition of “Kropka nad i”. Aleksander Kwaśniewskipresident of Poland in 1995-2005.
– I agree with the Prime Minister that blocking ambassadorial nominations, especially in these very sensitive places, is a mistake – he said.
– I signed a lot of these nominations. The procedure is as follows: applications come from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, go through the entire parliamentary procedure, are approved by the Prime Minister and finally are signed by the President. And this is the constitutional side, he noted.
– The practical side should look like it looked in my times, for example when I cooperated with Minister (Bronisław – ed.) Geremek, I cooperated with Minister (Władysław – ed.) Bartoszewski. After all, these people are not from my party, but excellent and guided by the interest of the state, he added.
At the same time, Kwaśniewski emphasized that “it was clear that the president has certain obligations and they must be respected.” – He sent it Andrzej Duda their people to outposts to ChinaI think they do quite well there. The government doesn't touch this and, from what I see, it won't touch it. On the other hand, we have a whole group of so-called professional diplomats, as the Americans say, and there should be normal rotation, the principle of continuity should apply, we should look for such people if someone has run out of time, there is a new application, he noted.
The former president emphasized that “there is a group of important positions that are more political than diplomatic, where every president should respect that the new government, the new majority, wants to have people in whom he has full trust.” – In Polish conditions, it is definitely Washington, Brussels, NATO“Berlin, I think, is London, there used to be Moscow, today it's different,” he noted.
“This is weakening the Polish state, exposing us to ridicule”
In September, the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee gave a positive opinion on the candidacy of KO senator and former head of the Ministry of National Defense, Bogdan Klich, for ambassador to Poland. USA. His candidacy is opposed by President Andrzej Duda, who announced that he will not sign this ambassadorial nomination. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski in mid-July he announced that Klich would soon take over the management of the Polish embassy in the USA.
In June, the president said on Telewizja Republika that “Mr. Radosław Sikorski and Mr. (Prime Minister) Donald Tusk want to send as the Polish ambassador to the USA a man who was the Minister of Defense when the President of the Republic of Poland died in a crash in a Polish government and military plane (…) aviation plus some of the most important people in the country.” – A guy who was then the Minister of National Defense and was responsible for it Polish armythey want to send to the United States. It's going to be one big laugh. I will never agree to this as long as I am president, Duda said.
He emphasized that there would not be his signature on the nomination for Ryszard Schnepf or other members of the Conference of Ambassadors of the Republic of Poland. He emphasized that the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “wants to recall from the embassy in Lisbon the ambassador (Joanna – ed.) Pilecka, who is a younger relative of Captain Pilecki, but he very much wants to send as the Polish ambassador Mr. Schnepf, whose father, together with the Soviets, participated in the Roundup Augustowska against Poles.
– These are completely unacceptable arguments, because if the president decides based on who was the father, grandfather or great-grandfather, it means that someone is crazy. And not an ambassador, Kwaśniewski said. – This is weakening the Polish state, this is exposing us to ridicule – he added.
He stated that “what President Duda is doing in this matter is ineffective.” – Because all the chargé d'affaires who left, including Mr. Schnepf in Rome, play the role of ambassadors, they are treated like that there, because everyone knows what the game is about – he emphasized. – And it is an unnecessary shame, but – as I say – the president takes it on his conscience – he emphasized.
The conflict between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the president regarding ambassadors has been going on since March. At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, had decided that over 50 ambassadors would end their mission, and several candidates submitted for approval by the previous management of the ministry would be withdrawn. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed hope “for concerted cooperation of the most important authorities in the country on this matter.”
According to the law, the ambassador is appointed and dismissed by the president.
Kwaśniewski: we are currently dealing with legal dualism consciously supported by the president
In “Kropka nad i” Kwaśniewski also commented on Thursday's statement by Andrzej Duda, who said at a scientific conference at the Supreme Court that “the president could appoint judges himself based on the principle: this one is suitable, this one is suitable, this one is suitable.” He also announced that he would “fight until the end for the judges he nominated.”
– This is the president's right, so in this sense I understand that for him to withdraw from the dozens or hundreds of nominations he has signed today would be a personal catastrophe. However, at this conference, the president should be asked why with his participation – because I understand that it was not his initiative, but rather Minister Ziobro's, or maybe the management's PiS – it was decided to appoint judges, first to the National Council of the Judiciary, and later to the Constitutional Tribunal, contrary to the constitution – he commented.
– Not saying where all this mess comes from and that President Andrzej Duda has a hand in it all is simply avoiding the truth – he added.
Kwaśniewski stated that “we are currently dealing with legal dualism consciously supported by the president.” – Which, in my opinion, is a very dangerous action, because firstly it causes chaos today, but secondly, it may also be abused in the future, because we may have many such situations, such coabitation as we have today, in the future – he added.
– These bad examples may be repeated in the future and we may not get out of this legal chaos at all – he noted.
“I'm reporting such a serious alert that it's high time”
The TVN24 guest was also asked whether the ruling coalition was wasting time in the context of the upcoming presidential elections.
– I am reporting such a serious alert that it is high time for the candidates of the democratic majority, especially the Civic Coalition, because he will be in the second round. You have to make a decision and this man has to make a full-fledged campaign, traveling all over Poland, most of the districts. He has to show himself, he has to introduce himself, Kwaśniewski pointed out.
– If we are talking about two candidates that we hear about, i.e. Radosław Sikorski and Rafał Trzaskowskiboth gentlemen have all the qualifications. I believe that they can be very good presidents, but their strength lies primarily in their international and Warsaw politics. They must present themselves to the national audience, both small towns and rural ones, he said. As he added, “this cannot be done in a month.”
The politician noted that “The Civic Platform and Donald Tusk have already won one spoiled presidential election, when it came to the re-election of Bronisław Komorowski (in 2015 – ed.).” – Then, unexpectedly, a little-known candidate wins. If they want to repeat this mistake, please do so. Only it will be a disaster, I emphasize, a disaster, he stressed.
– We have to get on with it, it can't just fall from the sky, because those who waited for victory as if it were semolina from heaven never got it – he added.
Kwasniewski: Zelensky is really on his last legs
The former president also commented on the situation on the Ukrainian front. – Zelensky is really on his last legs. He has been at war for three years now. It goes as it goes. He has a problem with the US because he doesn't know what will happen in these elections. Not all European partners are as open as we are, he said.
In this context, he spoke about the issue of the Volhynian crime, which causes tensions in Polish-Ukrainian relations. – This matter must be resolved in accordance with the principles of coexistence between neighbors, respect for the victims and so on, but we cannot discuss aid for Ukraine on one level. In a war that is dangerous for us, because it is Russian aggression that may also spill out into our territory, he noted.
Kwaśniewski drew attention to “a problem that will be much more difficult than ending the issue of settling accounts for the Volhynian crime.” – This is the issue of Ukrainian agriculture in the European Union, because here there will be a clash of our interests, those of Ukraine and other European countries. Let the experts work today, he said.
Speaking about potential developments in the war, the former president said that there is no end in sight “and we must be prepared that it will continue.” At the same time, he pointed out that “a certain breakthrough is taking place if we read what Zelensky proposes in this so-called peace plan, and it is being talked about more and more loudly among ordinary Ukrainians, that is, the adoption of the concept of two states – for example, Korea or the Federal Republic of Germany” and the GDR, two German states.
As he continued, this would mean “as if accepting that the occupied areas are probably irrecoverable, but for the area that remains Ukrainian, clear security declarations are necessary.” – In my opinion, the most clear solution would be NATO membership or accession to the European Union to obtain the development impulse that is necessary. We could look for some solutions somewhere around this, he said.
– It seems to me that Zelensky is mentally preparing Ukrainians for this, step by step, although it will be very difficult for him politically – he added.
– But – and what is worst – the key to peace in Ukraine is in Moscow. As long as Putin wants to have all of Ukraine in his hands, in his sphere of influence, there is no chance that this war will end. We may be experiencing a more peaceful period of war, but Putin's goal remains unchanged. Can this thinking change in the Kremlin? In my opinion, not in a conceivable time – concluded Kwaśniewski.
Main photo source: TVN24