“Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka may at this moment be a person kept on a kind of political leash. I do not want to offend the minister, but she herself says that she fears prison and that she is being threatened with it over what she did in connection with the SAFE programme. So perhaps this is a kind of checkmate: you now have to act together with us,” said Wojciech Machulski, spokesperson for the Confederation, on the programme “Michał #Rachoń” on TV Republika, referring to Sobkowiak-Czarnecka’s appointment as Deputy Minister of National Defence.
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka Deputy Head of the Ministry of National Defence. “She proved herself”
Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka was today appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of National Defence. The head of the ministry, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, emphasised that the politician “proved herself in building and organising the Polish presidency, which was undoubtedly a success”.
“This is where the SAFE programme was born, a proposal by Prime Minister Tusk submitted in Brussels, pushed through the European Commission, the first decision in history enabling financing from the European budget for the modernisation and transformation of our army. What is, I think, one of the most important tasks for the minister, set by the Prime Minister, which I fully support, is also a driving force for the Polish economy – the defence industry, its promotion and the sale of Polish equipment abroad. Purchases for the Polish army and coordination of this undertaking, transformation,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz.
The nomination of Sobkowiak-Czarnecka as Deputy Head of the Ministry of National Defence was commented on by Wojciech Machulski, spokesperson for the Confederation, on the programme “Michał #Rachoń” on TV Republika.
“Today, Minister Sobkowiak is storming into government politics. I believe that media reports suggesting that she could in the future become Prime Minister of a possible government of this “smiling coalition” may have been deliberately circulated by the ruling camp. It seems to me that at this moment she may be a person kept on a kind of political leash. I do not want to offend the minister, but she herself says that she fears prison and that she is being threatened with it over what she did in connection with the SAFE programme. So perhaps this is a kind of checkmate: you now have to act together with us. In the mafia, it was the case that one had to commit a crime to be accepted into the group. Perhaps Ms Sobkowiak was accepted into this team in this way and that is why today she acts together with the ministers,” he said.
He also added that he “is very concerned about the consequences of the SAFE programme”.
“I believe that, similarly to the case of the National Recovery Plan, in a few months, or perhaps a few years, it will turn out that this money has been wasted. We must prepare for really difficult relations with the European Commission. If after 2027 we have a right-wing, patriotic government in Poland, sceptical of the current direction of the European Union – and I hope such a government will be formed – then the European Commission will have many tools to make its life difficult,” he stated.
As tools of influence by the European Commission on the Polish government, he pointed to “SAFE, the conditionality mechanism and funds, as in the case of the National Recovery Plan”.
“Then Donald Tusk, as an opposition politician, will build a narrative: if you want money, you must vote for Donald Tusk, because the European Commission is taking funds away from the “fascists”. That will be the narrative. The second issue is Poland’s debt. I think we should conduct a short thought experiment: what will happen when the government in Poland changes? Will the European Commission extend the rule of excluding defence spending from our debt? In my opinion, this will not happen, because they will try to fight such a government,” he assessed.