“Giertych’s conversation with Tusk dates from 2019, but I assure you… they still talk about Poles among themselves in exactly the same way today,” commented Mariusz Błaszczak, former Minister of National Defence, on the excerpts of the Civic Coalition politicians’ tapes released by TV Republika.
The Tusk tapes
TV Republika published yesterday the so-called “Tusk tapes,” recordings that could send shockwaves through the political scene. The released extract of a conversation between Roman Giertych and Donald Tusk dates from 2019.
The discussion touched, among other things, on Giertych’s dispute with then-Civic Platform leader Grzegorz Schetyna, the hand-over of signatures for Stanisław Gawłowski, and strategy concerning Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska’s candidacy for President of Poland. Offensive remarks were also made about right-wing voters and, among others, politicians of the Confederation.
Giertych threatens a TV Republika journalist
One of the protagonists of the new tape scandal, Roman Giertych, reacted almost immediately to the revelations, posting two messages on social media: one in the form of a “statement” and the other… in the form of threats directed at TV Republika investigative journalist Piotr Nisztor. Those threats did not go unanswered.
Błaszczak: Contempt Is Their Trademark
The excerpts released by TV Republika (the remaining recordings are to be published on Monday at 8:20 PM) have reverberated widely in the public sphere.
Mariusz Błaszczak, former Defence Minister, also responded, recalling the 2014 tape scandal in which then-Treasury Minister Włodzimierz Karpiński said to PKN Orlen CEO Jacek Krawiec: “The theory boils down to, in the end, you know, f** that eastern Poland, right? Warsaw, Katowice, right?”—thereby disparaging Poland’s eastern regions.
“Contempt for Poles is the trademark of most Civic Platform politicians. Back then it was “f** eastern Poland,” now it’s “f**kups.” Giertych’s conversation with Tusk is from 2019, but I assure you… to this day they talk amongst themselves about Poles in exactly the same way,” wrote Mariusz Błaszczak.