“For several days now, people have been trying to convince others that I asked President Donald Trump to arrest Donald Tusk, kidnap him, or bomb Warsaw (as Roman Giertych wrote). Now it turns out that because I allegedly ‘wanted to bomb Warsaw,’ I am supposed to be sentenced merely to community service. None of this makes any sense…” said Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief and president of Republika, speaking on the station’s air.
A post by the head of Republika reading “Assad, Maduro… Tusk?” caused a stir in the media space. A heated debate followed, involving, among others, leaders of the largest political parties—Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Law and Justice chairman Jarosław Kaczyński.
Roman Giertych also reacted to Tomasz Sakiewicz’s post. Giertych is a close associate of Donald Tusk and the legal representative of him and members of his family. On Saturday, the Civic Coalition MP wrote on X: “I am filing a notification with the Prosecutor General against Tomasz Sakiewicz for his post inciting war against the democratically elected authorities of the Republic of Poland. The owner of one of the larger television stations is a person whose posts cannot be ignored.”
Akcja Demokracja—an organization known for actions previously directed against the United Right government—also joined in. It announced a campaign to “collect signatures” in support of a notification to the prosecutor’s office regarding Tomasz Sakiewicz’s post. In its assessment, the statement fulfills the elements of a prohibited act under Article 128 of the Penal Code, concerning an attack on a constitutional body of the Republic of Poland, punishable by 3 to 20 years in prison.
Giertych Changes the Narrative. Sakiewicz Responds
Although Roman Giertych shared the Akcja Demokracja campaign, his latest post shows a clear change in narrative.
“Sakiewicz should not go to prison for his posts, if only because he pocketed 150 million złoty from state-owned companies to develop his business. For posts, he should face public contempt and be punished with community service,” we read.
The Civic Coalition MP’s stance prompted a response from the person concerned. Tomasz Sakiewicz recalled Giertych’s post from January 3, writing: “Mr. Roman, someone broke into your account two days ago and posted some incredibly foolish things—completely contrary to what you are writing now. I’m warning you as an old acquaintance.”
Tomasz Sakiewicz: We Are Dealing with a Psychosis
Sakiewicz also commented on the Civic Coalition MP’s change of narrative on Republika’s air.
“For several days, people have been trying to convince others that I asked President Donald Trump to arrest Donald Tusk, kidnap him, or bomb Warsaw (as Roman Giertych wrote). Now it turns out that because I allegedly ‘wanted to bomb Warsaw,’ I am to be sentenced only to community service. None of this holds together. They realized that the entire internet is laughing at them, that they made absolute fools of themselves. The prime minister’s reaction to this post is also absurd. It seems they acted under the influence of collective frenzy, which led them to a point where only a psychiatrist could determine what is happening to them,” assessed the head of the House of the Free Word station.
He added: “We are dealing with a psychosis. Roman Giertych was the first to throw out the slogan ‘we’re running,’ meaning ‘a coup d’état,’ and suddenly everyone started running… without thinking about how absurd it was.”
The journalist noted that “they are all slowly backing away from this, not just Giertych.”
“Of course, he knows this has been judged as total madness and simply makes them look completely unserious. Imprisoning someone for any tweet is viewed very negatively around the world. If you put three names next to each other—even the worst ones—everyone makes their own associations at their own responsibility. They concluded that there is only one possible interpretation of those names, namely that I want to arrest Donald Tusk. This is a frenzy and madness not seen even in Polish politics. It hadn’t happened even in Polish politics before,” he said.
“Why Did Giertych Think That Right Away?”
Sakiewicz pointed out that “there is a type of post, of commentary, meant to provoke thought and elicit a certain reaction. Everyone reacts according to their own line of thinking—if they cannot break out of their mental circle…”
“Why did Roman Giertych immediately think that I wanted to bomb Warsaw? That is absurd. Now, after three days, even if someone initially thought that, they would conclude it was absurd,” he stated.
In his view, the actions of Akcja Demokracja—launching a signature-collection campaign to notify prosecutors over the X post—“are proof that we have a serious problem with democracy in Poland.”
“I hope there will be less madness in Polish politics. We are talking about people who, in the same breath, can say that trains obstruct snow-covered platforms, blame truck drivers for maliciously pulling out and blocking roads in winter. But now the ceiling has been shattered. Claiming that placing three names next to each other is a demand to bomb Warsaw and carry out a coup d’état—such nonsense has not existed in Polish politics since 1989. I think that even Gomułka would not have been able to invent something like this. This is collective madness that a significant part of society has succumbed to, especially those supporting the government,” concluded the president of TV Republika.