Polish president defends his signature under investigative panel law

Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, has defended his approval of a law that sets up an investigative commission tracking Russian influence on Polish politics as he responded to criticism from the US and the EU that the panel could be used to sway the election.

Poland goes to the polls this autumn, and opponents of the government argue that the commission could target leading opposition figures such as Donald Tusk, a former prime minister and now leader of Civic Platform (PO), the largest opposition party, ahead of the general election.

In a Tuesday interview, published by Bloomberg on Wednesday, Duda said he did not understand the critical reaction from Poland's allies to his signing of the bill into law on Monday.

"I don't know if they were misled by opposition politicians, if they were misled by errors in translating the bill — or if someone just didn’t explain it," Duda said.

Both the US State Department and the European Commission have expressed concerns that the new law could be used to target opposition politicians and thus sway the election result.

According to Bloomberg, Duda has offered to explain the matter in a direct conversation with Joe Biden.

"In the US, various decisions are made, judgments are passed, various commissions are set up," Duda continued. "It's supposed to be the same for us. So I don't see a problem here, unless someone is spreading misinformation."

Duda argued the law contains a right to appeal and "absolutely doesn’t" prevent candidates from seeking office.

But Bloomberg quoted critics who say "the appeal process could take years to reverse any initial decision."

Defending the law, Duda said that "Polish society deserves to know whether someone, while performing a specific public function, was actually subject to any Russian influence."