“The officers who intervened at the president’s family home did not receive proper support from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration,” said former deputy head of the ministry, Maciej Wąsik. In his view, “the authorities have launched a hybrid war against opposition media as well as against the opposition itself.”
On Saturday evening, emergency services received an anonymous report of a fire at the family home of President Karol Nawrocki in Gdańsk. Firefighters and police forcibly entered the apartment by breaking down the door. During the several-minute intervention, no fire was found, and no individuals were present inside the apartment.
The incident follows a series of similar actions targeting journalists and employees of TV Republika, as well as former National Security Bureau (BBN) head Sławomir Cenckiewicz.
The matter was discussed on TV Republika by former deputy interior minister Maciej Wąsik.
“It seems to me that the authorities have initiated a kind of hybrid war against opposition media and against the opposition itself. They have even classified President Karol Nawrocki as part of that opposition,”
he said.
“I have a certain sense of déjà vu. I remember the final period of Lech Kaczyński’s presidency, when there was a massive industry of hatred and enormous hostility directed at the president. Today, Donald Tusk is once again in power, and we are facing a similar situation,”
he added.
Wąsik also drew attention to the reactions of politicians from the ruling coalition.
“In a normal state, everyone would express regret and embarrassment that such a situation occurred, that services entered an apartment belonging to President Karol Nawrocki’s family. Instead, we see a prominent Civic Coalition politician, former health minister and MEP Bartosz Arłukowicz, mocking and ridiculing the president over this situation,” he said.
“I believe we are witnessing a series of false alarms that are convenient for the current authorities, and that the authorities are using them to conduct a campaign against opposition media such as TV Republika, or opposition politicians like Jarosław Kaczyński, or even President Karol Nawrocki. This situation is unacceptable. It is scandalous, and the Polish government bears responsibility for creating circumstances in which officers are confused in certain situations,”
he stated.
He stressed that the officers at the scene should have received support from central command.
“From what I know, the fire brigade arrived, found no fire, and wanted to withdraw. At that moment, an ambulance and police arrived and stated that they had just received information that someone inside the building showed no signs of life. At that point, the duty officer or their superior should have helped the officers on-site make the proper decision. From what we know, they did not receive that assistance, and that is a major failure of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, because the ministry is responsible for this,” he said.
According to Wąsik, the government could still “save face” if it identifies those responsible for the false alarms.
“I am convinced these are people from Poland, operating within a certain environment that spreads hatred on the Polish internet; there is no doubt about that. But I also have a strange feeling that the authorities will not find the perpetrators […] first, because it is not particularly convenient for them to do so, and second, even if they wanted to, they no longer have the proper tools. The Pegasus commission has destroyed the operational capabilities of the Polish services,”
he concluded.