Sunday anti-government march is not grassroots event says PM

Mateusz Morawiecki has said that a huge march in Warsaw led by Poland's largest opposition party Civic Platform (PO) against the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government is not a spontaneous civil protest but has been organised by "old foxes" in Polish politics.

The march was called for by PO leader Donald Tusk as a protest against, as its organisers declare, "high prices, theft and lies, for free elections and a democratic, European Poland."

Morawiecki said in his Sunday podcast on social media: "I have nothing against the free manifestation of views, regardless who has them. This is the beauty of democracy, that everyone has this freedom, and even harsher forms of expressing these views, which hit the government, what we do as a Law and Justice team, do not arouse any significant indignation in me.

"It makes me laugh a bit when old foxes, who have been in politics for many, many years, organise an anti-government march and present it as a spontaneous civil protest," he added.

Morawiecki said that he had heard from local government officials "how everything looks from the inside out."

"A directive came from the PO headquarters that all their presidents and mayors should bring (to Warsaw - PAP) as many PO activists, employees of municipal companies, local government officials, etc," he said.

Morawiecki stipulated that he had nothing against the idea of a grassroots march, but "nothing is happening from the grassroots here".

"Let's call the thing by its name - this Sunday's march will be a march of PO activists, voters and supporters. And also a few other formations. And whoever of the representatives of other opposition parties gets involved in it only strengthens Mr Tusk, at the expense of their own independent position," he said.

According to Morawiecki, "when Mr. Tusk and his entourage organise a carnival in Warsaw, the PiS government will prove what real politics is all about."

“When they shout that they want a change of government, we will actually change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for the better. Ask yourself which strategy is better for Poland," he wrote.