One of Poland’s most left-leaning and popular portals, Oko.press, has chosen a new target for its attacks: Law and Justice party (PiS) MEP Dominik Tarczyński.
In an extensive article concerning the politician’s public and personal life along with his recent political activity, the portal did not spare any criticism and even failed to fully research Tarczyński’s background.
The publication took an aggressive stance on a variety of Tarczyński’s political views, including comments he has made about immigration.
“Not even one illegal Muslim migrant will ever cross the Polish border. Ever,” Tarczyński once said, as quoted by the author of the article.
The MEP is declared as “the face of Poland abroad” due to his controversial views and posts on social media. The article adds that Tarczyński is also deemed the spiritual successor of Nigel Farage and perhaps even Donald Trump himself.
Since 2017, Tarczyński has appeared in several of the most influential media outlets in the West speaking in English, including Al Jazeera, France24, BBC, Turkish TNR, Deutsche Welle, and Breitbart. The MEP once posted a collection of best interviews on Twitter, which has received more than a million views.
It’s as simple as that! ?? pic.twitter.com/5hC76XQXet
— Dominik Tarczyński MEP (@D_Tarczynski) March 1, 2020
Tarczyński’s viewpoints have won him a lot of fans in Poland, a country that rejects mass migration and other progressive issues like abortion.
The Polish MEP was also awarded the Phyllis Schlafly Eagle Award, given by American conservatives at the Gateway Eagle Council conference.
Some commentators have compared Tarczyński to other right-wing politicians and activists throughout the world, mainly Italian Matteo Salvini and British Nigel Farage.
Tarczyński also attacked the post-communists within the Polish parliament and emphasized the role they still played in the country: “Communism never ended in Poland. We have a third generation of communists in the parliament. How can those people, who built that system, who killed and tortured people for years, peacefully live and be chosen in free elections? Why does the EU, which supposedly cares for rule of law and democracy let them out?”
Moreover, the MEP is also a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump and often refers to him in his tweets or praises the president’s actions. On New Year’s Eve in 2019, he tweeted well wishes for the American president, emphasizing the high level of support for Trump throughout the world. He also often appears in photos with a “Make Europe Great Again” hat, stylized after Trump’s iconic headwear.
Tarczyński has also personally eferred to the Oko.press article, pointing out at least one inaccuracy that claimed he was a councilman in Poland’s Świętokrzyskie voivodship council:
“Hey Oko.press, you geniuses! On your Twitter bio you wrote that you conduct journalistic investigations. You’re so good at these investigations that you come up with Fake News. I’d like to inform that I never was a councilman in a municipality. Google could help you out next time. And you want money for all of this rubbish?”
Hej @oko_press geniusze! ?
W opisie na TT napisaliście, że prowadzicie dziennikarskie śledztwa.
No tak prowadzicie te „śledztwa”, że FakeNewsy wypisujecie.
Informuję, że nigdy nie byłem radnym sejmiku.
Google polecam!
Jeszcze kasę chcecie od ludzi za te wszystkie brednie? ? pic.twitter.com/eeqGBaZNbS
— Dominik Tarczyński MEP (@D_Tarczynski) August 23, 2020
Despite the criticism from Poland’s left-wing press, Tarczysnski has said before that he will not apologize for protecting Poland’s borders, telling Al Jazeera last year that the Polish government promised to never accept any migrant quotas, a promise the government has kept.
“So we have a right to think about our future in the way we want to,” Tarczynski said during an interview. “So, Christian culture, Roman law, Greek philosophers. These are the virtues for us. That’s number one. Number two: we do not want sharia law in Europe.”
