“Look at what happened here. It’s simply the politicians who are responsible for creating the framework within which these competitions were decided,” said Michał Rachoń on TV Republika, speaking about the KPO scandal. Tomasz Sakiewicz agreed, adding: “This is not a mistake.” He explained: “Because how would your buddies who own restaurants, in Kraków for example, get that money if there weren’t such methods? The rules had to be rubbery, flexible, because then you can give it to a friend, a mistress, a fiancé.”
Following the announcement of the rapid release of funds from the National Recovery Plan (KPO), companies in the HoReCa sector (hotel trade industry, gastronomy, tourism, and culture) rushed to submit applications. The application period closed, and the government proudly reported on its website: “We have already signed 1,621 contracts.”
A map showing KPO grants was also published. Funds flowed to entrepreneurs for things like coffee machines, floating houses, tanning beds in pizzerias, and yachts. Public outrage grew, while those in power buried their heads in the sand. The page with the funding breakdown was swiftly taken offline.
“We are reviewing and correcting all agreements that raise doubts,” said Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, adding that at such a massive scale of investment, some misguided agreements were bound to occur.
Tomasz Sakiewicz addressed the matter on TV Republika:
“I’m not sure this coalition even exists. We have blatant misappropriation of public funds for shameful purposes, at the expense of hospitals, children… And today, Donald Tusk, wanting to humiliate his coalition partner, has in fact probably blown up the government. Now the question is: what will they do? Because if he keeps Ms. Nałęcz in the government, he will have to bear the consequences for her; but if he fires her, the coalition will probably not survive.”
Michał Rachoń noted that politicians from Polska 2050 might argue that Pełczyńska-Nałęcz is not to blame for the KPO scandal, but rather her deputy, Jacek Karnowski, representing the Civic Platform (PO).
“This is a situation with such huge negative potential for Donald Tusk that I’m not surprised the president spoke about it today in an interview for TV Republika. Because if we look at the map that was presented to the public, we are going back to the five-year-long story about the National Recovery Plan, about the money we were supposed to give away, excuse me, in exchange for our sovereignty, for our fundamental right to make decisions,”
he said.
The journalist added that despite the rhetoric from the EU about the KPO, in reality, the money went to Civic Platform politicians so they could renovate their own businesses.
“Look at what happened here. The politicians are responsible for creating the framework within which these competitions were decided. I know not all of them were directly involved, but the politicians who created the formal rules, rules presented to the public, including entrepreneurs. I’m not even talking about the aunts and friends of PO politicians who renovated their businesses; we’re talking hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs who saw the rules, filled out the applications, and submitted documents. If someone wanted to run a tanning salon, they ran a tanning salon; only some idiot created rules allowing them to do so under the KPO. And now, when it turns out that Donald Tusk and his compromised team have to pay the political price, they come out and say: Who’s to blame? The people who filled out the applications, not the ones who created these idiotic rules. This is a scandal,”
Rachoń argued.
Sakiewicz added:
“This is not a mistake. Because how would your buddies who own restaurants, for example, in Kraków, get that money if there weren’t such methods? The rules had to be rubbery, flexible, so that way you can give it to a friend, a mistress, a fiancé.”