Poland’s leftist-liberal government took the petty and vindictive decision to ‘uninvite’ the Hungarian ambassador from the opening ceremony of the Polish EU presidency, which took place on Friday, January 3rd in Warsaw’s National Theatre.
The action, described by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó as “pathetic and childish,” was intended as revenge for Hungary’s decision to grant political asylum to Polish prime minister Donald Tusk’s political rival, former Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski.
“If admitting political refugees and standing on the side of justice means being excluded from a few opening ceremonies, it’s well worth the price,” the conservative Hungarian prime minister’s political adviser Balázs Orbán responded to Hungary’s invitation being withdrawn.
Marcin Romanowski, a minister of the former conservative Polish government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, was arrested last July for allegedly misusing public funds during his time as a government official. He was detained despite holding immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
In a recent post on X, Romanowski said he is a victim of “the construction of a lawless state,” and is “unable to rely on access to an apolitical and impartial judiciary.” That is why he decided to apply for asylum in Hungary, becoming the first Polish opposition politician to receive such support since 1989.
The persecution of Romanowski is part of a series of steps that the current Polish left-liberal government has taken to crack down on its political opponents. In the past year, since Donald Tusk came to power, his cabinet has openly disregarded the law, purged state institutions, jailed opposition lawmakers, and ignored court rulings.
Nevertheless, EU institutions have not called out the government for its abuse of power, and have instead rewarded the Tusk cabinet with billions of euros in EU funds. This is because EU institutions and the Brussels liberal elites see Tusk as one of their own—a former head of the European Council, and the former leader of the establishment European People’s Party.
Romanowski sought and gained political asylum in Hungary in December. The Hungarian prime minister’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said at the time that “it is evident that the judicial independence and rights of opposition figures in Poland are under threat.”
Hungary and Poland enjoyed a strong relationship under the previous government in Warsaw, with both cabinets pursuing a sovereigntist foreign policy, and both pushing back against Brussels’ involvement in their domestic affairs.
The relationship has clearly changed with the arrival of Tusk, whose foreign minister Radosław Sikorski called Budapest’s decision to grant political asylum to Romanowski a “hostile act.”
In revenge, Poland ‘uninvited’ Hungarian Ambassador to Warsaw, István Íjgyártó, from the opening ceremony of Poland’s EU presidency last Friday. “After the situation with minister Romanowski, Minister Sikorski decided that the Hungarian ambassador is not a welcome guest in the theatre today,” Deputy Minister for European Affairs Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was also not invited.
Former Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak (PiS) called the actions of the current Polish government “harmful for our country,” adding that “there is no objective reason to denigrate Poland’s Hungarian friends.”
In his New Year’s Day speech, Polish President Andrzej Duda, an ally of PiS, had harsh words for the current Polish government:
The government’s focus has been on deepening divisions and strengthening conflicts, leading to chaos in the justice system and a lack of legal security for Poles, and thus to the weakening of Polish democracy.
A recent survey reveals that more than a third of Poles believe the rule of law in Poland has worsened since Tusk took office. 34.8% of respondents said the situation has deteriorated, 28.2% said it has remained unchanged, and only 24.4% felt it has improved.
