Tomasz Sakiewicz, president of TV Republika, assessed 2025 in a New Year’s Eve interview as a time of intense struggle for freedom of speech and Poland’s sovereignty – marked by attacks on independent media, but also by major successes: from the station’s growth, through the organization of key presidential debates, to the election of Karol Nawrocki as president against the will of the “occupying elites.”
In the New Year’s Eve edition of Radio Republika’s morning program, Tomasz Sakiewicz summed up the passing year 2025, emphasizing its difficult yet victorious character for independent media and Poland’s patriotic community.
“A difficult year, because on the one hand we have the actions of the December 13 coalition, which are dismantling Poland’s constitutional foundations and breaking up the community, but on the other hand there are probably even reasons for pride as a result of the presidential elections,” the host began. Sakiewicz replied:
“I remember that on New Year’s Eve, exactly at 12:00, I wished Poles freedom, simply freedom. And this was a year of regaining freedom, because 2024 was the moment when attempts were made to simply steal freedom from Poles. Personal freedom, when people began to be thrown into prison, those most terrifying scenes. When priests are arrested, when members of parliament are arrested, when female civil servants are arrested and subjected to torture – inhuman, degrading actions.”
Sakiewicz pointed to attempts at censorship and attacks on the media:
“After all, the attack on TV Republika began almost simultaneously with the attack on public media, only obviously in a different way. They didn’t enter our premises by force; they tried to destroy us financially. And it was clear that we had to start reclaiming that freedom, because otherwise we would lose everything.”
However, the year also brought reasons for pride.
“First of all, we kept Republika alive; Republika developed. And after all, for a year now, exactly a year, it has been the largest news television channel in Poland, one that the others are not even able to compete with. In our direct competition at TVN24, they open champagne if they manage to catch up with us even for a single day in a month. But generally speaking, we have an advantage of several dozen percent.”
A key event was the presidential election, won by Karol Nawrocki.
“Despite the occupying frenzy of partition-era elites, it was possible to elect a Polish president. A president won whom the occupying elites did not want. Because I have this thesis that Polish political elites, for the most part, have been shaped by partitioning powers and occupiers for 300 years.”
Sakiewicz emphasized TV Republika’s role in the campaign:
“Telewizja Republika organized the largest number of debates, probably in the history of presidential elections in Poland. We set up a table to which we invited everyone, absolutely everyone. We gave equal opportunities. And ostentatiously, the sure bet, the presidential candidate, the ‘two-hour president’, took advantage of it. And that man is precisely the one who lost the election.”
Despite unprecedented attacks – lawsuits and attempts at financial destruction – the station survived thanks to viewers’ support.
“We are coping only because every morning we have mobilization. If it weren’t for the mobilization of our teams and our viewers, this kind of daily mobilization, then for TV Republika to exist, each viewer of Republika would need to pay just one złoty.”
The culmination of the year will be the New Year’s Eve celebration organized once again by TV Republika in Chełm, this time featuring stars of dance music and disco polo.
“This New Year’s Eve also has a communal dimension. We celebrate together, so that everyone has a sense of belonging to a community. Ladies and gentlemen, we have won so much. We have won so much this year. And we will win the entire coming year. You will see that Poland next year may already be completely different.”