After the Civic Coalition convention, where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk made international headlines for announcing he would suspend the right to asylum in Poland, there are some who remain skeptical about Tusk’s move. Polish professor Mieczysław Ryba, a political scientist at the Catholic University of Lublin, said that a true anti-migration agenda is unlikely to materialize.
“In Poland, it is not about the right to asylum, but about illegal migration. Tusk should first block the migration pact. He is doing all this for the presidential elections,” says Prof. Ryba in an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal, emphasizing that Tusk is trying to present himself as a tough defender of Polish borders.
“What he says and what he does are two different things. Of course, he will be watching how the social mood develops or what the external pressure will be,” stated Prof. Ryba.
During the Civic Coalition convention, Donald Tusk announced that he would suspend the right to asylum in connection with the ongoing hybrid war on Poland’s eastern border. He did not mention, as he did years ago, poor people who are “looking for their place on Earth.”
A serious impediment to Tusk’s obtaining the power he wants is the fact that President Andrzej Duda remains in office and can effectively veto many of Tusk’s legislative moves. Due to this, Ryba says Tusk’s only goal is not to protect Poles from illegal migration, but to gain an advantage over Law and Justice (PiS) in the presidential election campaign.
“Tusk is doing all this for the presidential election. Let’s look at the election campaign in the U.S. Issues related to migrants are a very strong element of the political game in America. Donald Trump may win this election, and there are many indications that he will, precisely because of the key issue of migrants for Americans. These issues also play a very strong role in European politics. Let’s look at France or Germany. In turn, in Austria, the anti-immigration Freedom Party won. Poland is part of the Western world, and Tusk, thinking about the presidential election, is trying to fit into all this,” he said.
For Prof. Ryba, the measure of the credibility of Tusk’s words is his behavior regarding the migration pact.
“In his statements, Tusk is no longer even PiS-like, but rather Confederation-like,” said the professor, referring to the right-wing Confederation party, which is known for its hardline stance on immigration.
However, Tusk can afford to speak this way, because he knows the EU’s migrant pact is not yet in force. In reality, this is the only law that matters, as it will enable the EU to force migrants on countries like Poland regardless of what their stance is.
“In reality, however, nothing will change. We have an adopted migration pact, the subsequent stages of which are being implemented. It will not come into force before the presidential elections, which is why Tusk can talk a lot. What he says and what he does are two different things. Of course, he will look at how the social mood develops or what the external pressure will be. Now, he says what people want to hear. It is clear that he is preparing for the presidency,” said the professor.
Politicians from the ruling coalition are surprised by Tusk’s words on the suspension of the right to asylum in Poland. Szymon Hołownia speaks of the “sacred right to asylum.” Adrian Zandberg calls Tusk’s words cynical, and Minister Adam Bodnar buries his head in the sand in embarrassment, stated Ryba.
“Even if the heads of the parties forming the ruling coalition are now wide-eyed and take Tusk’s words seriously, they really have no choice. Tusk already knows that the Left and Third Way will field their own candidates in the first round of the presidential election. In the second round, during the confrontation between the PiS candidate and the PO candidate, they will still have to support Tusk or someone from his side. That is why their protests are meaningless,” the professor concluded.
