Reports of irregularities with the National Recovery Plan (KPO) sparked such a “fire” within Civic Platform (PO) and its parliamentary allies that it had to be extinguished in the media. According to findings by TV Republika journalist Marcin Dobski, at the end of the week there was allegedly a secret meeting between Prime Minister Donald Tusk, some members of his government, and representatives of media outlets favorable to them.
The KPO scandal, which we are covering extensively on the portal niezalezna.pl, concerns the misallocation of funds from the National Recovery Plan (KPO) designated for the hospitality and catering sector (HoReCa), meant to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the publication of an interactive project map on kpo.gov.pl, internet users revealed that the funds – part of the EU pool of PLN 254 billion – were being used for questionable projects, such as the purchase of yachts, saunas, tanning beds in pizzerias, or equipment for luxury hotels, instead of genuinely supporting struggling businesses.
The scandal was further fueled by cases of grants being awarded to companies outside the HoReCa sector, connected to politicians from Civic Platform, Polska 2050, and the Polish People’s Party (PSL), as well as the practice of trading companies that met pandemic-loss criteria – suggesting systemic abuse. The case is already being described as one of the biggest scandals of the Third Polish Republic (III RP), and demands for the resignation of Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz (Polska 2050), responsible for fund distribution, are growing louder.
It is no surprise that the affair triggered panic among those in power. “The KPO fire had to be put out” – wrote investigative journalist Marcin Dobski of TV Republika on Twitter, revealing that a secret meeting between Prime Minister Donald Tusk and journalists allegedly took place at the end of the week.
“Apparently on Thursday there was another meeting between D. Tusk, government leadership, and friendly journalists, including Dziubek, who later writes that the Trump administration lobbied for support of his Nobel Peace Prize nomination. That’s the climate we live in.” – Dobski wrote.
He also recalled that back in December 2022, Tusk had already secretly met with friendly journalists when he needed attacks against the Law and Justice (PiS) government. Back then, it included figures such as Andrzej Stankiewicz (deputy editor-in-chief of Onet), Karolina Lewicka (TOK FM), and Dominika Długosz (Newsweek Polska).