Mariusz Błaszczak, head of the Law and Justice (PiS) parliamentary club, along with Paweł Szefernaker, chief of Karol Nawrocki’s election staff, delivered harsh criticism of the migration policy under Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government. During a press conference, the politicians responded to Civic Platform’s (PO) narrative surrounding the so-called “visa scandal” and presented Eurostat data, which they claim expose the falsehoods spread by PO politicians, including presidential candidate Rafał Trzaskowski.
87 Percent Increase in Asylum Applications
Błaszczak emphasized that under the current ruling coalition, the number of asylum applications in Poland has risen dramatically.
“Eurostat data show that under the December 13 coalition, the number of asylum seekers has increased by 87 percent,” said the former Deputy Prime Minister.
He described Civic Platform’s 2023 election campaign as “slanderous,” recalling Donald Tusk’s claims that the PiS government had issued hundreds of thousands of visas. He pointed out that even a parliamentary committee established by the current coalition found evidence for only a few hundred visas, accusing PO of deliberate manipulation.
Trzaskowski Under Fire
Błaszczak also criticized Trzaskowski’s long-standing and current stance on migration policy, accusing the presidential hopeful of misleading voters by pretending to have changed his views.
“He changes his mind almost daily. Now he presents himself as a politician against migration, but when he was a minister in Ewa Kopacz’s government, he took a different stance. At that time, they agreed to accept migrants. We have the right to expect politicians to foresee the consequences of their decisions,” Błaszczak argued.
He added that a shift in migration policy was only possible after the United Right came to power in 2015.
“The PiS government did not accept illegal migrants and we scrapped the decisions made by Ewa Kopacz’s government, where Trzaskowski served as a minister,” Błaszczak stated.
Szefernaker Announces Lawsuit
Also speaking at the conference, Paweł Szefernaker accused Civic Platform of deliberately misleading the public.
“Lies are in PO’s DNA. In 2023, they built their entire narrative on the alleged visa scandal, which helped bring them to power. Even the parliamentary committee found the case likely involved only 300 visas, yet they continue to lie about it. They lied, they lie, and they will keep lying,” he said.
Szefernaker announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against PO MP Sławomir Nitras, who publicly blamed him for allegedly issuing 300,000 visas.
“These are slanderous fake claims… We’ll see each other in court,” he declared.