During Prime Minister Donald Tusk's speech in the Sejm on the subject of floods in Poland, PiS MP Marek Suski spoke up. The voices of other politicians from this club were also heard, to which the head of government responded. – It seems to me that sometimes, when you have nothing constructive, wise to say, when you have no appropriate words, it is sometimes better to remain silent and listen to those who want to share information with all those who are waiting for it – he said.
On Wednesday evening, the Prime Minister Donald Tusk and ministers present in the Sejm information about floods and actions taken to eliminate its effects.
During his speech, the head of government emphasized that “large cities, large population centers, such as Wrocław or Opole, were saved from this great flood”. – According to initial estimates, the number of destroyed and flooded residential premises this year, despite this great flood, the largest in history (…), will probably be ten times smaller than in 1997 – he announced. He also emphasized that “this does not in any way diminish the scale of the disaster and the tragedy of the people who are there”. Tusk said that “thanks to the quiet heroism of various people, this greatest tragedy, which could have affected hundreds of thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of apartments, households, did not happen”.
Tusk: sometimes it's better to keep quiet
At this point, during the Prime Minister's speech, a man from the audience spoke up. PiS MP Marek Suskisaying that “it could have been less if you had warned them.”
Tusk replied: – Unlike some people here, I do not intend to hold anyone accountable, but I have been among these people since the first hours of this flood. I would ask you to respect those people who want to hear this information. If you are not interested in it, it does not mean that those who are there are not interested. When I am finished, you will have the right to vote.
Other voices from PiS politicians were heard in the hall.
– It seems to me that sometimes, when you have nothing constructive or wise to say, when you do not have the right words, it is better to remain silent and listen to those who want to share information with all those who are waiting for it – said the Prime Minister.
There was applause in the hall.
Tusk: please focus now
Tusk also said during his speech that the services are checking the disinformation and fake news that is appearing. He assessed that sometimes they result from stupidity, sometimes from overzealousness, and sometimes such things are controlled by our enemies and – as he said – it is documented.
– I appeal to all of you, without exception, do not spread this type of information. It will not help anyone – it will make people there even more afraid. They have enough reasons to be afraid of what happened, of what may happen in the future. Do not add to this – he emphasized.
He said that “if some anonymous troll writes that thousands of people have died and are underwater in their cars” and “if this appears and is repeated by MPs, then it becomes a drama”. – I ask you to focus now, because we are talking about the most serious issue of this flood, when it comes to communication between people – he emphasized.
– You can say anything about me, but think about how you are affecting people there. Please, do not repeat this type of information – he appealed.
Tusk to the members of parliament: I am asking you to focus nowTVN24
– You have the right, and you are using this right, to say that the aid action came too late. We will be doing a very thorough audit of where what failed – assured the head of government.
Addressing the opposition halves, he added: – I want to remind you that you are the last ones who can say that someone was late with the flood relief operation.
– Because when people there were helping flood victims on Saturday, they were watching you on TV at a political rally – argued the head of government.
Tusk noted that “he personally had many reasons to comment on this, because he was the main hero of this political event in Warsaw”. – I did not say a single word about it. But it seems to me that you should not comment on who went there too late, who went there at all and who took care of the flood then, on Saturday, when the water really came to the cities – he noted.
– Do not create this type of atmosphere, because it serves no purpose – appealed the Prime Minister.
Main image source: PAP/Tomasz Gzell