Poland could organize a referendum in the fall on a division of asylum seekers within the European Union (EU). The announcement, made on June 15, by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of PiS (Law and Justice) – Poland’s ruling party – was confirmed in July by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
This PiS initiative came after a preliminary European agreement establishing a system of compulsory distribution of asylum seekers between EU countries and fining states that do not comply. ” It’s discrimination “, according to Mr. Kaczynski, who highlighted the “millions of refugees” Ukrainians who have passed through Poland since the beginning of the war. “We do not agree with [ce texte]and the Polish people don’t agree either, and that needs to be put to a referendum”he explained to the Diet, the Polish lower house.
The politician then specified, in an interview on 8 July with the television channel Polsat, that he was “favorable” to a referendum with “a single question: “Do you accept the policy of the government which refuses a forced distribution of illegal migrants?” “We don’t want anyone forcing us to change our way of life, our business model and encroaching on our security,” he continued.
The Prime Minister, for his part, confirmed that the government planned to organize the consultation on the same day as the legislative elections, scheduled for the autumn, to reduce the ” costs “. While the ballot promises to be tight for the ultra-conservatives in power since 2015, the strategy seems clear: to glean as many votes as possible by highlighting the migration situation, a divisive subject in Poland. A survey by the Polish institute Ibris at the end of June revealed that 50.3% of respondents were in favor of such a referendum.
Opposition overreach
The announcement of the referendum was widely commented on in Poland, forcing the opposition to take up the issue. “Next to the town of Plock, the PiS is building a village of several thousand people for immigrants from Muslim countries (…). They’re going to build the Orlen refinery. The first workers are already settling in. And, meanwhile, Kaczynski announces a referendum on the transfer of 1,800 people. Poll scores are down and campaign ideas are running out”noted on Twitter (now X) Jan Grabiec, spokesperson for the Civic Platform (PO), the main opposition party.
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