A statement made on the public television station—illegally taken over by Donald Tusk’s government—may go down in history as a prime example of political absurdity. Borys Budka, former leader of Civic Platform and now one of the key figures in Tusk’s party, suggested that President Andrzej Duda, by declaring a national day of mourning on the day of Pope Francis’s funeral, is maliciously sabotaging the government’s celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of the Polish Crown.
According to Budka, the President should have—despite the Vatican having already set the date of the funeral—chosen “a different day” for the national mourning, just to avoid interfering with an event involving Donald Tusk.
“He could have chosen any other day (…). I hope it wasn’t out of spite,”
Budka, now a Member of the European Parliament, said.
— tvp.info
"Mógł wybrać każdy inny dzień. (…) Mam nadzieję, że to nie była złośliwość"@bbudka w rozmowie z @Piekarski_M o ogłoszonej przez prezydenta @AndrzejDuda żałobie narodowej
pic.twitter.com/bJxpuHr9J6
(@tvp_info) April 23, 2025
A Ceremony the Government Forgot
Let’s recall: the 1000th anniversary of the coronation of Bolesław the Brave had been completely ignored by Tusk’s government and political allies. The topic only recently resurfaced—under pressure from historians, the public, and in the context of the presidential campaign—and even then, it was hastily put together.
Now, with the Vatican setting the Pope’s funeral for Saturday, April 26—precisely that day—Civic Platform, through Borys Budka, rather than respecting the solemnity of the moment, is spinning conspiracy theories and accusing President Duda of pettiness. But Budka didn’t stop there.
“I see the hand of the President’s now-infamous advisor in this, if we’re looking for signs of spite (…). But the President has been petty toward this government from the very beginning (…).
It’s unfortunate that it had to happen around such an event, because death and mourning should never be used to score political points against the government,”
he remarked.
Public Embarrassment on State TV
Even commentators on X saw the absurdity in these accusations.
“Did the Vatican deliberately choose this date for the funeral?”
blogger Kataryna asked ironically.
Watykan celowo wybrał ten dzień na dzień pogrzebu. pic.twitter.com/xkDC4JvozY
— kataryna
“When is he supposed to go to the funeral, if not on the actual day of the funeral? And what is this, some sort of party?”
journalist Estera Flieger added.
„Widzi pan w tym szczyptę złośliwości, że prezydent leci w sobotę na pogrzeb papieża, a jak mówią złośliwi zostawia Polaków z żałobą?”.
— Estera Flieger (@estera_flieger) April 23, 2025
A kiedy ma lecieć na pogrzeb, jak nie w dniu pogrzebu? I to jest jakaś impreza, czy co? https://t.co/hQQoMARK9m
The idea that the death of the Pope and a national mourning period could be viewed by Civic Platform politicians as an obstacle to Tusk’s PR campaign is beyond embarrassing. It reflects the moral decline of a political camp that once called itself the liberal center—now increasingly resembling a media-political cult, detached from reality.