Opposition moves to report defence minister to disciplinary body
Poland's main opposition party, the centrist Civic Platform (PO), has said it is preparing to submit a formal complaint to the State Tribunal after the defence minister revealed top secret documents for the purposes of election campaigning.
The complaint concerns a campaign video posted on social media on Sunday ahead of the October 15 general election, in which Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak revealed documents showing that the previous PO-Polish Peoples' Party (PSL) government planned to defend Poland only from the point of the River Vistula, which runs through Warsaw.
The clip featured pictures, including defensive plans for the Polish Armed Forces, which had been signed off by then Defence Minister Bogdan Klich, and others that showed the front of documents marked "top secret."
"The (PO leader, Donald - PAP) Tusk government was ready in the event of war to give away half of Poland," Błaszczak said in the video. "The documents clearly show that Lublin, Rzeszów and Łomża could have been a Polish Bucha."
PO spokesman Jan Grabiec told private radio station Radio Zet on Monday that the display was "an absolute breach of the boundaries of any concern for the Polish state."
"The documents that Minister Błaszczak revealed are documents prepared by the General Staff of the Polish Army," Grabiec said. "Today he (Błaszczak) brings charges of treason against Polish generals and senior Polish officers."
The PO spokesman said such documents should never have been revealed, adding that if they contained anything worthy of the accusations, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party had had eight years of government in which to raise them.
"Using documents created in consultation with Nato makes Poland completely unreliable today as a Nato ally," Grabiec told Radio Zet. "How can internal defence documents... be revealed as part of an election campaign? Will PiS soon reveal documents Nato has sent us regarding defence strategy?"
Grabiec accused Błaszczak of betraying the Polish Army, uniformed services and the national interest, claiming his actions would have serious consequences.
Błaszczak wrote on X on Monday: "Civic Platform objects to us revealing their plans to give away half of Poland to the enemy. Poles have a right to know what fate you were preparing for them! The Polish Army should fight for every metre of our territory and for every human life in the event of conflict. You were preparing a repeat of (Ukrainian cities - PAP) Bucha and Irpin and wanted to make Warsaw a frontline city!"
A judicial body, the State Tribunal rules on the constitutional liability of people holding offices of state.
