Why did Grzegorz Schetyna prevent attorney Roman Giertych from running for parliament in 2019? The behind-the-scenes context of these political maneuvers has come to light in the latest exposé by Telewizja Republika. Journalists Piotr Nisztor and Cezary Gmyz have obtained recordings that could spark a new wiretapping scandal in Polish politics.
On Saturday morning, TV Republika released tapes that could send shockwaves through the political scene. The recordings feature three key political figures: Donald Tusk, Roman Giertych, and Paweł Graś.
The following excerpt comes from 2019, recorded shortly before the parliamentary elections in October. In the conversation, Giertych laments to Tusk that then-PO chairman Grzegorz Schetyna had effectively blocked his candidacy—both to the Senate and the Sejm.
TRANSCRIPT OF THE CONVERSATION:
R.G. (Roman Giertych): Hey Paweł.
P.G. (Paweł Graś): Oh, hi. Listen, the boss has a new phone, you know. But it doesn’t have WhatsApp, because the trouble he had—we think it came through WhatsApp. So maybe I’ll just hand him the phone. Go ahead.
D.T.: (Donald Tusk): Hello?
R.G.: Hi Donald.
D.T.: As you know, my old phone was seriously messed up. Really badly.
R.G.: The Chinese, the Chinese.
D.T.: What?
R.G.: The Chinese.
D.T.: The Chinese? What do you mean, “the Chinese”?
R.G.: Chi-ne-se – you know, a nationality.
D.T.: The Chinese… What Chi…?
R.G.: They infected your phone.
D.T.: Yeah, I had major issues with it for weeks. But the last four days were an absolute disaster. Tell me, what decision did you make about the list?
R.G.: I won’t be running. It’s not even my decision—it’s more Grzegorz’s. I was even willing to run for the Sejm, but you know, the reasons he gave for not letting me run for the Senate didn’t change for the Sejm—in fact, they only got worse. He simply blocked me. He set up two meetings with me—I don’t even know why, since he didn’t intend to offer me anything. I honestly don’t know what it was about. Maybe he just wanted to talk because I had this idea that he should step aside. Maybe that’s what it was.
D.T.: So no offer at all?
R.G.: Not a single offer in the end.
D.T.: Mhm. So it’s over?
R.G.: Yeah. It’s all done and dusted.
D.T.: That’s a shame. You on the list alongside Kidawa—it would’ve been perfect. No matter where you were placed, you’d have gotten the second-best result. Damn it.
R.G.: But he just didn’t want it. And if he didn’t want it, what can you do? He clearly had his reasons.
D.T.: Damn. He really made a mistake.