“We have achieved a 98% success rate in preventing illegal border crossings. This is thanks to the determined stance of 11,000 officers,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday at the Polish-Belarusian border. The same Tusk who, during the election campaign, lamented the fate of the supposedly “poor people looking for a place on earth.” However, internet users quickly recalled not only the statements of the leader of the Civic Platform but also the actions of his subordinates.
The Prime Minister, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, as well as Minister of the Interior and Administration and Coordinator of Special Services Tomasz Siemoniak, visited the Polish-Belarusian border on Saturday. Following a briefing with the leadership of the Polish Armed Forces, the Border Guard, and the Police, the Prime Minister held a press conference.
“We have achieved a 98% success rate in detaining illegal crossings, meaning that 98 out of 100 attempts to illegally cross the border are thwarted thanks to the determined efforts of our soldiers, the Border Guard, and the Police,”
Tusk announced to the media.
He added that 11,000 officers are currently stationed at the border. And it was against this backdrop that he made his statement.
Online commentators were quick to recall that the current ruling coalition, while in opposition, accused Law and Justice (PiS) politicians of using uniformed officers for political image-building. But that was not all.
It was politicians from the ruling coalition who, on December 13, obstructed the work of border officers risking their lives. They did so both on-site—by delivering aid packages to migrants—and in Parliament, by voting against the construction of a border barrier.
Commentators also pointed out that today’s praised soldiers, border guards, and police officers were previously subjected to harassment and vulgar attacks from the Civic Coalition’s circles. Meanwhile, for the leader of this group, the same aggressive foreigners were once merely “poor people searching for a place on earth.”
After the elections, the narrative changed, but as it turns out, Poles have not forgotten the old one.