Macierewicz Attacks the US: They Only Founded Their State in the 18th Century and They Want To Lecture Us About Democracy?

“People who built their country as late as the 18th century want to teach us about democracy?” Such was the question asked in mock disbelief by Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz, during his stay in Torun. His sharp words were referring to the United States.

“Our nation had its representative and democratic structures in place as early as the 13th and 14th centuries. It has been the source of democracy for all of Europe,” Macierewicz said during a seminar broadcast by the Polish TV station Trwam. Macierewicz’s presentation, entitled “Contemporary Politics: Armed Conflicts and Terrorism,” was a part of a conference organized at the The Social and Media Culture School of Higher Education of Father Rydzyk.

These statements were Macierewicz’s response to accusations from the EU and the U.S. that Poland does not comply with the democratic process, in particular when considering the latest case of the Constitutional Tribunal.*

The Polish daily legal newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported that there have been some informal suggestions by Americans that the U.S. Congress should intervene in the trial cases before the Constitutional Tribunal, according to information allegedly conveyed by high-ranking military officers who train with Polish soldiers.

Newsweek Polska has reported on numerous occasions that diplomats in Washington always carefully analyze a situation before they take any steps that might lead to a cooling of diplomatic relations. A letter from three American senators, including the influential Sen. John McCain, addressed to Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, could be considered such a step. The senators urged Szydlo to confirm Poland’s loyalty to the basic principles of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and those of the EU, including the respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law. A further step involved sending former Ambassador Daniel Fried and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland to Warsaw.

*Editor’s note: The Constitutional Tribunal is the constitutional court of Poland, a judicial body established to resolve disputes on the constitutionality of the activities of state institutions.