Narutowicz Assasinated

President Narutowicz with Józef Piłsudski

Gabriel Narutowicz, Poland’s first President, has been assassinated. The President was visiting the Zachęta art gallery in Warsaw. A few minutes after midday, President Narutowicz (who had only just been sworn in five days previously), arrived at Zachęta and was admiring a painting by Bronisław Kopczyński when the British ambassador William Grenfell Max-Müller together with his wife greeted him warmly. Müller’s wife addressed Narutowicz saying “Permettez-moi Monsieur le Président de Vous fèliciter” (Allow me to congratulate you, Mr President) to which he prophetically replied, “Oh, plutôt faire les condoléances” (Oh, rather offer your condolences). Narutowicz moved on to admire another painting – Teodor Ziomka’s Szron - after which three shots rang out.

Niewiadomski - Murderer

The perpetrator of this crime comes as a surprise to everyone. Eligiusz Niewiadomski, the assassin, is a painter, art critic, man of letters, and one of the many heroes who fought for Polish independence after 123 years of foreign domination. In 1918 he was nominated as head of the Art and Sculpture department in the Ministry of  Culture and Art by the regency Council government. He took an active part in the demobilisation of the German forces in Warsaw in early November 1918. Later, he worked for counter-intelligence demanding that the government step up its fight against communism. He was largely ignored in these demands. He is a right-wing nationalist and is a known critic of Józef Piłsudski and the late President. An impassioned anti-German and anti-Russian, he is vehemently in favour of a strong, nationalist Polish state.

Chjena - Attacking Like a Hyena

Divisive politics, the struggle between the left- and right-wings, has brought about this terrible moment for Poland. We are all responsible for this mindless act of violence. Things will never be the same again. Who can forget the words of the Christian Union of National Unity – ‘Chjena’ (ChZJN): “This President has been forced upon us and we need to fight him in order to maintain the nationalist nature of Poland”. The National Democracy (ND) declared that “it would not accept any government formed by this President”. Stanisław Stroński wrote in Rzeczpospolita that “this obstacle needs to be removed”. The Office of the President has been splattered with mud. President Narutowicz has been called a Jew, an atheist and a cosmopolitan. Now, however, the Office of the President is not only caked with mud but also soiled with blood.

R.I.P. Gabriel Narutowicz, the first President of the Republic of Poland.
17 March 1865 – 16 December 1922.

Death of Solidarity

Spotlight on Poland

Nobody could have envisaged that the thirtieth anniversary of the birth of Solidarność (in August 1980) would turn into a farce and sound the death knell for Poland’s first trade union. It is fair to say that the anniversary celebrations symbolically, yet unintentionally, brought about the end of the heroic Solidarność of August 1980. The Janusz Śniadek-led politically-distorted Solidarity of 2010 has absolutely nothing in common with the Solidarity of 1980 that brought together people of varying views, opinions and political allegiances. Lech Wałęsa’s refusal to attend the celebrations was a clear cutting of the umbilical cord and demonstration of the fact that the legacy of Solidarity 1980 is to be found elsewhere, not in Solidarity 2010.

Tusk Called For Solidarity But Was Booed

What was shocking about the celebrations was the reception that Prime Minister Donald Tusk got from the trade union members. Tusk, a former Solidarity member and activist, was hissed and jeered at when he asked the audience what had happened to the old Solidarity which brought together religious people, atheists, opposition activists and communists alike all for the good of the country. There was no room for hate. To this the hall erupted in a chorus of whistles and boos. Likewise, President Komorowski was greeted with hostility. It was only when PiS head Jarosław Kaczyński took the stage that the hecklers finally settled down giving him rapturous round of applause.

Kaczyński Giving Tusk 'The Evils'

Why was Jarosław Kaczyński giving a speech in the first place? He neither espouses to the ideals of tolerance and solidarity nor was he an integral member of the original movement. His place at the anniversary celebrations was misplaced, misconceived and misguided. He had neither the authority not the right to stand up and talk about ‘solidarity’ with the views he holds. In his speech he talked about manipulation and lies whilst looking straight at PM Tusk. Unsurprisingly, he talked about his patriotic brother Lech Kaczyński who, he alleged, had struggled with Tadeusz Mazowiecki (Poland’s first non-communist post-war Prime Minister) and Bronisław Geremek (Minister of Foreign Affairs) who were ready to give up the fight.

Henryka Krzywonos Strikes Back

A hurt and shell-shocked Mazowiecki confronted Kaczyński afterwards telling him that what he had said was a complete pack of lies to which Kaczyński replied that he had a different view of what had happened. Mazowiecki retorted: “This has nothing to do with anyone’s views. It is about the facts and what happened. Gemerek’s no longer with us. How could you?! The facts are completely different”. However, what really rocked the celebrations was Henryka Krzywonos’ impromptu speech.

Henryka Krzywonos Saves The Day

The former Solidarity heroine and tram driver hit the headlines when she brought traffic to a standstill and initiated a Solidarity-led strike in August 1980 when she stopped her tram. After hearing Kaczyński and the jeers at Tusk, she ploughed into the audience and Jarosław Kaczyński claiming that the members of Solidarity had worked for the good of everyone and to boo at PM Tusk was simply out of order. As for Kaczyński, she said she did not know what had happened to him but he should stop stirring things up and let people get on with their lives. “It is you,” she said to Jarosław Kaczyński, “who is destroying Lech’s [Kaczyński] dignity”.

Solidarność began life as a movement fighting for the rights of workers. Sadly, this non-violent and tolerant institution, open for all, became embroiled in politics and has since become the lapdog of Kaczyński’s Law and Justice (PiS). As Henryka Krzywonos, one of the original signatories of the Solidarity Gdańsk Agreement (pol. Porozumienie Sierpniowe) said, “The name ‘Solidarity’ binds and obligates us”. It certainly does; solidarity obligates us to work together, in tolerance and openness with one another.

Was Kaczyński A Hero?

Royal Wawel - Place of Kings

The tragic death of President Lech Kaczyński and the 95 other passengers of flight 101 in Smolensk has opened up a veritable Pandora’s box of constitutional, political and moral issues. The first is whether or not President Lech Kaczyński should be buried in the hallowed chambers of Wawel Royal Castle, Kraków, final resting place of Poland’s kings and queens, greatest poets, military leaders and heroes. The news that President Kaczyński might be buried in Kraków hit the headlines on Tuesday 13th April after which protesters took to the streets in Kraków with banners reading “Kraków for Kings, Presidents for Powązki (Warsaw’s finest cemetary). The decision has already been taken (by Kaczyński’s family and the Archbishop of Kraków) but was it the right decision?

Is Kaczyński Another Piłsudski?

Lech Aleksander Kaczyński had always been in awe of former President and commander-in-chief of the armed forces Józef Piłsudski. Therefore, the decision by the late President’s family to bury him alongside his hero was a natural choice. Many believe it only right for Poland’s patriotic leader and Catholic family man to rest alongside the great Piłsudski. They also believe it fitting for Lech Kaczyński to be buried in Wawel Castle as he is the first non-communist President to have died after Poland’s independence in 1989. Many are calling for the new national stadium to be named after Kaczyński, others are calling him a hero as he died serving Poland while visiting those who died in Katyń. Was he a hero? Are his accomplishments comparable with those of, for example, Piłsudski?

Piłsudski Waits for Kaczyński

I have no doubt that President Lech Kaczyński, may he rest in peace, was a good, warm, caring person who had Poland and the good of Poland at the very core of his being. I also have no doubt that the tragic Smolensk air crash will change the world’s conception of the Katyń massacre and for this I will forever be in debt to all those who died in the shocking air disaster on the 10th April. Let us also remember that the crash was an accident, a terrible, terrible accident and therefore can we speak of heroism? History has been changed and whatever we may have thought about Lech Kaczyński before the accident is now no longer relevant. He will lie in the crypts of Wawel Castle whether we like it or not, whether we agree with this decision or not. How the world sees Kaczyński, how it sees Katyń, how it sees Poland will now depend on how Poland, and the people of Poland, react to what has happened and what follows. For the time being, the people of Poland have again shown the world the meaning of solidarity, the meaning of unity and the meaning of peace.

Katyń Returns to Haunt Poland

Lech & Maria Kaczyńska R.I.P.

Poland’s list of tragedies keeps on growing. The 10th April will live long in the memory of Poles around the world. On this day, 70 years ago, the cream of Poland’s political, cultural and intellectual elite were massacred in the forests of Katyń by Soviet officers on orders from Joseph Stalin. On the 10th April 2010, in one fatal, tragic swoop, Poland lost its President, Lech Kaczyński; Ryszard Kaczorowski, Poland’s last President-in-exile, Jerzy Szmajdziński, deputy Speaker of the House and presidential candidate, as well as a host of other political, church and military dignitaries. In fact, Poland lost its entire military command who were also on the tragic flight to Katyń. As former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski said, “Katyń is an accursed place for the Polish nation”.

Tupolev Tu-154 Crashes

Conditions were poor over Smolensk airport. Thick fog ominously swirled about the airport and forests around Smolensk. The Polish Presidential Tupolev Tu-154 circled the airport. It was obvious that there were problems. The tower recommended that the plane land elsewhere. However, the pilot attempted to land the plane four times. Each time without success. On its final attempt, not more than 1 km from the runway, the Tupolev Tu-154 caught the treetops with its left wing, crashed and exploded in a ball of flames engulfing all 96 passengers and members of the crew. Even though they arrived within minutes, the emergency services realised that all they could do was put out the flames. There were no survivors.

Among the tragic dead were:

Kaczorowski, President-in-exile

President and Personnel
Lech Kaczyński, President of the Republic of Poland
Maria Kaczyńska, First Lady of the Republic of Poland
Mariusz Handzlik, Deputy Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
Ryszard Kaczorowski, last President of the Polish government-in-exile
Andrzej Kremer, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sławomir Skrzypek, President of the National Bank of Poland
Władysław Stasiak, Chief of the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland
Aleksander Szczygło, Head of the National Security Bureau
Paweł Wypych, Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland

Szmajdziński, Left Wing Leader

Members of Parliament
Krystyna Bochenek, Deputy Speaker of the Senate
Leszek Deptuła, member of the Sejm
Grzegorz Dolniak, member of the Sejm
Janina Fetlińska, member of the Senate
Grażyna Gęsicka, member of the Sejm
Przemysław Gosiewski, member of the Sejm
Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka, member of the Sejm
Sebastian Karpiniuk, member of the Sejm
Aleksandra Natalli-Świat, member of the Sejm
Krzysztof Putra, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm
Arkadiusz Rybicki, member of the Sejm
Jerzy Szmajdziński, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm
Jolanta Szymanek-Deresz, member of the Sejm
Zbigniew Wassermann, member of the Sejm
Wiesław Woda, member of the Sejm
Edward Wojtas, member of the Sejm
Stanisław Zając, member of the Senate

General Franciszek Gągor

Military figures
Lieutenant General Andrzej Błasik, Chief of the Polish Air Force
Major General Tadeusz Buk, Commander of the Polish Land Forces
General Franciszek Gągor, Chief of the Polish Army General Staff
Vice Admiral Andrzej Karweta, Commander-in-chief of the Polish Navy
General Włodzimierz Potasiński, Commander-in-chief of the Polish Special Forces

Religious figures
Archbishop Miron Chodakowski, Orthodox Ordinary of the Polish Army
Tadeusz Płoski, bishop of the Military Ordinariate of the Polish Army
Ryszard Rumianek, Rector of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University

Katyń, Accursed Forest

Others
Janusz Kochanowski, Polish Ombudsman for Citizen Rights
Janusz Kurtyka, President of the Institute of National Remembrance and historian
Piotr Nurowski, President of the Polish Olympic Committee
Maciej Płażyński, President of the Polish Community Association and co-founder of Civic Platform (PO)
Andrzej Przewoźnik, Secretary-General of the Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites
Anna Walentynowicz, free trade union activist, member of Solidarity
Janusz Zakrzeński, actor

May they all rest in peace. Those here and those left unmentioned.
Let us end with the words of Zbigniew Herbert (from “Guziki”):

…a bird flew by, a cloud floats along
a leaf falls, a plant sprouts
and silence on high
and the mist steams over Katyń forest…

A Short History of the ‘Komisja Śledcza’ (Part 3)

continued from Part 2

Death Comes to the Komisja

Outrage swept the political scene in 2007 when Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) MP Barbara Blida committed suicide at home in the presence of officers of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) who had burst into her house with a warrant for her arrest. Accusations were flying everywhere. Why did the ABW officers not stop Blida pulling the trigger? The Commission on the Tragic Death of MP Barbara Blida headed by Ryszard Kalisz (a colleague of Blida’s) sought to discover the legality of the actions of the ABW and public prosecutor (which at the time were under the auspices of Jarosław Kaczyński’s government). Also incriminated in the affair was Zbigniew Wasserman, himself no stranger to the workings of the investigative commissions having being a member of two previous ones. The komisja has not yet concluded its work.

Commissions Galore

The following commission began its work at the beginning of 2009. Yet again, death returned to the komisja. This time the remit of the investigative commission was to look into the kidnapping and murder of Krzysztof Olewnik, who was the son of a wealthy businessman.  Two days after his kidnapping, a ransom was demanded for Olewnik’s safe return. Olewnik’s family paid the ransom, however his body was later found beaten, tortured and pumped full of drugs (by the kidnappers). The affair exploded when it turned out that the police/public prosecutor files on the case had gone missing. Soon afterwards the criminals who had been sentenced to prison for Olewnik’s murder were one by one found dead in their prison cells. First, Wojciech Franiewski, then Sławomir Kościuk. For fear that Robert Pazik (one of the three criminals found guilty of murder and the only one still alive) would also kill himself (or be killed), his cell was closely monitored at all times. However, he  too was found dead in his cell. Mystery clouds Olewnik’s death and the commission is still at work.

PO's Turn to Come Under Attack

Poland’s latest komisja saw PiS MP Zbigniew Wasserman (former controversial coordinator of the Special Services) return yet again as a member of a komisja and play a starring role together with PiS colleague Beata Kempa. Every government has come under its fair share of attacks from subsequent commissions – first SLD, then PiS. The new PO government was no exception and felt the full force of negative komisja PR. The Gamblegate Commission, as it has become known, was called into being in order to investigate charges of illegal lobbying on the part of members of the gambling fraternity as well as the dubious connections with this fraternity of various members of the PO government. This komisja was a chance for the afore-mentioned Wasserman and Kempa to attack the government, however, the real star of the show was Franciszek Stefaniuk of PSL who showed everyone the true motivation behind the creation of each and every komisja – marketing, showbiz and self-promotion (click here to watch him in action).

What have these commissions brought to Polish politics? Certainly controversy, scandal, self-promotion and politicking but have they served their purpose? Probably not. If this institution is to meet the demands of today’s politics and politicians, something has to change. The question is what? The politicians or the komisja.

A Short History of the ‘Komisja Śledcza’ (Part 2)

continued from part 1

Looking For The Guilty

The 2005 komisja śledcza hit the headlines first of all not with its remit but rather with who did not become its chairperson. The Commission on the Privatisation of PZU decided against electing Andrzej Lepper to be its chairperson much to the annoyance of the head of Samoobrona (Self-Defence). Instead, Janusz Dobrosz (of LPR, another extremist PiS coalition partner) took the helm of this commission whose brief it was to discover whether or not the privatisation of PZU (a state-owned insurance giant) was legal. The commission sought to discover how millions of tax payer złoty had evaporated. Przemysław Gosiewski of PiS and Cezary Grabarczyk of PO strengthened their political standing thanks to the commission.

The Puppet Show

By the time of the next komisja, the Polish public had become anaesthetised to the bickering and politicking of the members of investigative commissions. Each time a new commission was created, politicians were fighting at the chance to get on board in the hope of repeating the political success of Jan Rokita and Zbigniew Ziobro during Rywingate. The komisja śledcza had become synonymous with political show business and the commission members eager puppets in the pay of their party leaders. The 2006 Commission on the Banking Supervisory Commission (KNB) set out to discover the influence that the National Bank of Poland (NBP) and the Banking Supervisory Commission (KNB) (now the KNF) had had on privatisation in the years 1989-2006. Again, the komisja served more as a chance for politicians to shine rather than reach any conclusions. Adam Hofman, the young PiS politician was its chairperson thanks to which his political career took off.

The PO-PiS Aftermath

The next komisja which was called into being in 2008 was particularly memorable for its bickering. It was perceived to be an act of revenge by PO on PiS after PO had won the parliamentary elections. The members of Kaczyński’s PiS government were seen to have used their political weight to exert pressure on the police, special services, the Central Anti-corruption Bureau (CBA), public prosecutors, Internal Security Agency (ABW) and judicial authorities for political gain, in particular against PO. The commission’s brief was to investigate these claims. The ‘Commission on Pressure’, as it became known, despite admirable intentions to defend democracy and fight any moves to destabilise it, descended into chaotic pettifoggery and was unanimously declared a farce.

to be continued in (final) part 3…

A Short History of the ‘Komisja Śledcza’ (Part 1)

Ready to Grill Anyone

How on earth do you explain to anyone not living in Poland the complexities of the komisja śledcza? In all honesty, I have no idea where to begin. Perhaps, however, a few explanatory remarks to get the ball rolling. The institution of komisja śledcza (roughly translated as ‘parliamentary investigative commission’) burst onto the Polish scene in a flash of media hype and buzz with Rywingate in January 2003.

Lew in the Slammer

Its remit was to investigate the alleged attempt by film producer Lew Rywin to obtain a $17.4m bribe from Gazeta Wyborcza for changing legislation which would re-open up the media market and be of great help to Gazeta Wyborcza‘s publishers Agora. Rywin approached Gazeta Wyborcza‘s editor-in-chief Adam Michnik who recorded the entire event thus sparking the first komisja śledcza. The investigative commission went down as one of the most important political events in modern Polish history bringing down the SLD government (and effectively wiping out the political left), pushing to the fore Civic Platform (PO) and Law and Justice (PiS) which in turn allowed Lech Kaczyński to win the presidency and Jarosław Kaczyński the parliamentary elections with their mission to instigate a moral revolution and the ‘Fourth Republic’. Lew Rywin went to prison.

Culture of Commissions

If Rywingate got the ball rolling, the next commission, known as Orlengate, finally put the nail in the coffin for Poland’s left wing and saw the rise of right-wingers Roman Giertych, Zbigniew Wassermann (later to appear in the Gamblegate commission) and the political re-birth of Antoni Macierewicz. The 2004 commission focused on the dealings of oil giant PKN Orlen. The company’s CEO Andrzej Modrzejewski was arrested in dubious circumstances by the Office of State Protection (UOP) and then suddenly released prior to an important board meeting. This controversy led to his removal from the post of CEO which put the spanner in the works for an oil supply contract worth nigh on $15bn. Allegedly, the then President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, business mogul Jan Kulczyk, businessman Marek Dochnal as well as the Russian secret services were embroiled in the scandal. Also, the reputation of Włodzimierz Cimosiewicz was tarnished by the whole affair and ruined his chances of winning the presidency.

to be continued in part 2…

Is Poland a Modern Democracy?

Third Way or No Way?

The Land of the Poles is now a part of NATO, it is a member of the European Union and belongs to most of the structures and institutions that are a mark of democracy in the modern world. But does that make it a democratic country of the ‘civilised, western’ world?

Defining Democracy
The problem with defining Poland as a democratic country hinges on the fact that there seem to be several definitions of the term. However, a more pressing problem is the fact that the Polish ‘democracy’ is often compared against the French, British or American ‘democracies’ with commentators often forgetting that Poland was still a communist state in 1989, little over twenty years ago. A mere twenty years have passed… Comparisons, rather, should be drawn between the ‘democracies’ of Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria or the Czech Republic.

Classifying Civilisation
Civilisation is a different matter altogether. With democracy we can use indexes such as the Polity IV Project or the work of Freedom House but civilisation is a little harder to characterise. There have been various methods of pigeon-holing countries into this or that category (like Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations) but they all seem rather simplistic but my favourite is my own Toilet Check. The mark of civilisation in any country is the state of its public toilets. Check out ten public toilets in Berlin, Stockholm, Tunis, Cairo, Prague, Budapest and Warsaw. Then put them in order of cleanliness. This is civilisation.

Democracy or Bust?

Identifying Initiative
Another marker of a modern civilised democracy is the level of initiative on the part of regular citizens. In Poland, this manifested itself in the Solidarity movement which helped bring down communism in Europe. However, following the implementation of democracy, popular initiative seemed to have disappeared. Not so any more. Thanks to the internet, a host of web-based initiatives have sprung up. A particular favourite of mine is Nie parkuj jak kutas (Don’t Park Like a Prick) which publishes pictures of illegally-parked vehicles together with colourful commentaries.

Grooming Grass-roots
So perhaps a way of defining a modern civilised democracy is looking at the grass-roots of the society: the state of the toilets, the level of services, the amount of popular initiative. The state of a country’s toilets and Don’t Park Like a Prick may appear to be amusing but they give us a quick insight into the state of the country. It will be our ability to nurture these initiatives that may be a linchpin for the development of democracies not only in Poland but around the world.

Silesians Want Autonomy

We, the Nation

An interesting thing happened during a recent Ruch Chorzów football match. A section of  fans hung a large flag over the fencing of part of the Chorzów stadium. The flag created such a stir that the Polish Football Association (PZPN) decided to ban this flag from being hung at future Chorzów games. What could possibly have infuriated the officials at the PZPN to have made them take such a drastic decision? Did the flag use abusive language? Racist language? Did the flag incite violence? None of the above. Quite simply, the flag was in German.

Huliganeria Oberschlesien

It’s not unusual for Ruch Chorzów fans, like most fans around the world, to fly various flags proclaiming their excellence and superiority above all other fans. No surprise there. However, Chorzów fans also have a propensity for declaring their nationality. A conspicuous section of Ruch fans often make it clear they are Silesians, that they belong to a Silesian nation. The PZPN has never previously got involved in the Silesian flag-waving of these fans. But the straw that broke the PZPN’s camel’s back was the use of the German word “Oberschlesien” (Upper Silesia).

Republic of Upper Silesia?

Obviously, Ruch Chorzów fans have been quick to protest against the ban. They believe it contravenes the constitutional right of minorities to use their own language (Silesian is a Polish dialect interspersed with German). Those who uphold the ban are quick to point out the roots of Ruch Chorzów: a Polish football team which supported Poland in the Upper Silesian plebiscites in the inter-war period and supported a Polish Silesia. They believe the “Huliganeria Oberschlesien” are trying to do away with the club’s traditions. Many older Ruch fans are downright disgusted with the flag and the idea that certain followers of Chorzów could even think of associating themselves with something as abominable as German or German Silesia. During the plebiscite and WWII, the German aggressors and occupants often adorned buildings and walls with “Oberschlesien” to highlight what they believed to be Silesia’s ‘Germanness’.

Schliesen - Back in the News

The other side to the story is just as fascinating (and complicated). The Ruch Chorzów fans responsible for the flag as well as those aligned with the idea of being ‘Silesian’ believe it to be a mark of their distinctness from other fans and other parts of Poland. Internet fora have been flooded with messages from Silesians claiming that Poles are racist, bigoted and intolerant and are not giving Silesians the right to be heard. It is interesting how what might appear to be a simple sporting discussion has turned into a discussion on political self-determination, perhaps even independence. The Silesian Autonomy Movement has also been quick to react and ‘go political’ turning the situation into a Tony Harrison-like ‘Them & [uz]‘ battle. The question, however, is whether this really is a them-against-us fight…

Oberschlesien. Ta flaga powinna wisieć czy nie? – zdjęcie

Right-Wing Strikes Back

Eating Pie?

PiS head Jarosław Kaczyński has announced that the European Parliament will bear witness to a revolutionary change following the upcoming European elections. During a meeting of the party’s political council, the Law and Justice (PiS) leader announced that it had been decided that PiS will take part in a  project to create a new conservative grouping in the European Parliament.

MEPs Unite
Jarosław Kaczyński announced that MEPs of Law and Justice will be joined by Czech and British conservative MEPs to create this new right-wing organisation. The conservative group will come into being after the June elections to the European Parliament. Is this the start of something new? Of a change in national and European politics? Will we witness a shift to the right in some sections of the Euro-parliament? Does it matter?

Defenders Defend
The Law and Justice leader believes that in order to defend the national interests of one’s country within the EU, politicians need to be independent and be free of any outside pressure. He feels that the creation of a new conservative group will give these ‘defenders of national interests’ this much-needed independence. He also believes that this new group will not only be a significant player in Brussels but will be also keep a beady eye on what MEPs are really doing.

Eurosceptics Divide
Eurosceptics can perhaps be put into two groups. Those that will do anything to stop Brussels having a greater say in local matters and block any erosion of sovereignty, and those that will do anything to get as greater slice of the European pie as is possible. In Poland, the greatest Eurosceptics were members of Andrzej Lepper’s Self-Defence, who appeared to belong to the first group but once in power magically turned into the second. We all know that PiS advocates Euroscepticism; the question is whether this party (and the new conservative grouping) will advocate the first or second kind of Euroscepticism.