Several weeks ago the „Fakt” tabloid published in Poland called on Hungarian journalists to apologize to the head of the European People’s Party, Donald Tusk, for providing information about his family history. Katarzyna Kozłowska, editor-in-chief of „Fakt”, stated that „in broad daylight, obvious lies and manipulated photographs were used, presenting them as facts”. To be precise, it should be stressed that the fact that Donald Tusk’s grandfather served in the Wehrmacht has been proved and is undisputed, although of course - since it actually concerned the Polish-German borderland - it can be differently interpreted.

Dear colleagues from the Hungarian media, if the Polish-Hungarian friendship is still a value to you, then apologize for the lies you spread. And remove them from your servers immediately

— calls the tabloid, yet another day attacking those who dared to criticize Donald Tusk.

Therefore, the editors of the wPolityce.pl portal want to send words of solidarity to our friends from Hungary.

We would like to stress that the actions of the tabloid founded by the Germans are an attempt to divert attention from a truly scandalous matter, i.e. from those statements by Donald Tusk, in which he makes indirect but clear analogies between the current Hungarian authorities and the Third Reich. This is an unacceptable language, based on manipulation, which in fact humiliates the victims of Nazi Germany.

We wish to underline that at his position, Donald Tusk is alone. The patriotic forces in Poland fully understand the purpose of Wiktor Orban’s policy, and they know how difficult it is to rebuild a country destroyed first by communism and then by post-communism and childish liberalism. Prime Minister Orban’s successes in this field served as an important inspiration for Poles in the most difficult period after the Smolensk tragedy.

At the same time, we point out that the whole operation may be aimed at conflicting Poles and Hungarians, connected by sincere and strong bonds of friendship. It is distinctive that the brutal accusations against the Hungarian government are made by Donald Tusk, and they are also made in the German press. This gives the impression that the former prime minister is meeting the needs of the main political centres of the European Union, including Berlin, which at the same time do not make scandalous accusations themselves, entrusting this task to a European from the eastern part of the continent. Shortly afterwards, a newspaper owned by a German-Swiss company is adding fuel to the flames. Perhaps it is a cunningly conceived operation, but at the same time quite an obvious one.

We believe that it is Donald Tusk who should apologize to the Hungarian brothers for the unacceptable comparisons to Germany of the 1930s. He should also stop actions that are clearly not in the interest of Central and Eastern Europe.

The Polish-Hungarian friendship is an important capital of both nations. In recent years, it has been particularly strongly supported by the authorities in Warsaw and Budapest. Provocations such as Donald Tusk’s statements or German media interference are unable to damage our mutual relations. On the contrary, they show the importance of this matter and how inconvenient it is for many powerful centres.

Editors of wPolityce.pl and the weekly Sieci

Tłum. K.J.