Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has challenged the leader of the European People’s Party group, Manfred Weber, to a television debate, which, if accepted, would take place on Oct. 2.
The invitation comes after accusations by the Polish government that German politicians are trying to interfere with the Polish election scheduled to take place later this year.
“If Germany openly admits that it will interfere in the elections in Poland, then let them face up,” said Morawiecki.
In an earlier interview on ZDF television, Manfred Weber spoke about “fighting” the Law and Justice (PiS) party. He stated that “every party must accept the rule of law; this is a dam against representatives of PiS in Poland, who systematically attack the rule of law and free media.”
In response to Weber’s statement, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reacted on Tuesday morning on social media, calling on the German politician for a public television debate.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to say that enough is enough. As the prime minister of the Polish government, which represents the majority of the parliamentary seats elected in democratic elections, I will not allow the Polish elections to be tarnished like this,” he said in a pre-recorded message.
“The German leader of the party to which the Civic Platform belongs, on Sunday, listed the Law and Justice among the groups that will be fought against by them,” he said.
“He called us his enemies. This is another such statement. Enough of this. If Germany openly admits it will interfere in the elections in Poland, then let them face up. Mr. Weber, please do not use your aide Donald Tusk. Please stand up for the debate. You accuse us of breaking democratic rules. Please tell this to millions of Poles in a televised confrontation. I invite you to the debate on Oct. 2. In the coming days we are ready to discuss the details of such a debate,” Morawiecki added.
This is not the first such statement from Manfred Weber about the PiS government. In June, in an interview for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the head of the EPP said that he would like to build a “firewall against PiS”.
“We are the only force that can replace PiS in Poland and lead this country back to Europe,” he added at the time.
