During a program conference, Karol Nawrocki argued that Poland cannot defend itself against the threat from Russia by only protecting half of the country, as the Tusk team had planned. Therefore, the Polish army must consist of at least 300,000 soldiers. Nawrocki emphasized that Poland has been arming itself in recent years, but now, considering the real threat from Russia, our army needs to be at least 300,000 strong. This means it must become the largest land army in the European Union. This is crucial because “we need the security of the Republic, and Poland must be strong in NATO!”
Status for Border Service Veterans
Nawrocki assessed that Poland has done a good job in NATO, and “our GDP spent on the military is approaching 5%.” He pointed out that the Tusk government is already failing to fulfill its commitments to expand the Polish army, and the number of volunteers is decreasing. He proposed creating a status for border service veterans, which would include social benefits for soldiers guarding our border. This border has become a battlefield in a hybrid war. As president, he would stand firmly behind our soldiers, hence this amendment to the law.
Karol Nawrocki also recalled how his rival for the presidency, Rafał Trzaskowski, once mocked the Territorial Defense Forces (WOT) and how politicians from the Civic Platform (KO) “ran with pizza” along the border with Belarus during the peak of the hybrid war threat involving migrants.