Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on September 2 that his country belongs in the European Union but should be careful not to be “infected by social diseases” that dominate the bloc.
Speaking at a party convention ahead of local elections in October, he defended his party’s democratic record and accused critics of serving “powerful interests and making deals with the mighty of the world”.
As reported by the Reuters news agency, this was an apparent jab at the close ties between the liberal opposition in Poland and Brussels.
“I had said we would face an uphill battle and that stones would be thrown,” Kaczynski said. “We are being attacked internally and from the outside… in ways that discount the reality and aim to demean… Poland.”
“It’s easy to serve the interests of the most powerful. If you want to serve the society, the nation, it’s much more difficult.”
According to Reuters, Kaczynski’s party says the EU is forcing member states to conform to standards that contravene Poland’s traditional family values.
On September 2, Kaczynski said EU membership was “the shortest way for Poland to achieve parity when it comes to living standards” with its western allies.
“But that doesn’t mean we should repeat the mistakes of the West and become infected with social diseases that dominate there,” he added.
PiS is popular in Poland, ahead of the local elections, a European Parliament vote in May and a general ballot due late in 2019.
A strong result in the local elections would give PiS a better foothold in regional government and more say in how public funds are spent ahead of next year’s general election.
