Tomasz Siemoniak stated yesterday that Poland does not have the demographic potential for a 300,000-strong army. How should this announcement be interpreted? “It should be taken very seriously, as a threat to Poland’s security, a resignation from ensuring our full security, military independence, and alliance with the United States,” said Antoni Macierewicz, Deputy Chairman of PiS and former Minister of National Defense.
Former Minister of Defense Tomasz Siemoniak (from the Civic Coalition) was asked yesterday on RMF FM whether the coalition government formed by the current opposition parties would aim to create an army of 300,000 soldiers. He replied that “there is no demographic potential for such an army.”
Macierewicz: This is opening up to the threat from Russia
Deputy Chairman of PiS and also former Minister of National Defense, Antoni Macierewicz, described this statement by the Civic Coalition politician as incompetent. “Siemoniak was talking about the population potential. Let him then consider what the Finnish army looks like, a country with 5 million people. Poland has population potential, not to mention economic potential, and the main element is the state of military and political threat from Russia,” said Macierewicz.
He assessed that Tomasz Siemoniak’s position “essentially means opening up to the threat from Russia.”
Siemoniak was the Minister of National Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, a very close collaborator of the leader of the Civic Platform, Donald Tusk. Therefore, his statement regarding Poland’s defense perspective if the Civic Platform were to come to power is substantial, and it should be taken very seriously as a threat to Poland’s security, a resignation from ensuring our full security, military independence, and alliance with the United States,” stated Macierewicz.
According to him, Siemoniak’s statement confirms how PiS defined the Civic Platform’s military and international policy, “when Minister Siemoniak was dismantling the Polish army.” “He announces that he will implement it again,” said Macierewicz.