Poland: Will anti-German rhetoric help PiS stay in power?

Courtesy of Deutsche Welle

Poland’s ruling party has long made Germany a scapegoat for many of the challenges facing the country. But will this openly anti-German stance help PiS get reelected?

Hardly a day goes by without the word “Niemcy” (the Germans) being used in a negative context on Polish state television.

When Poland blocked the EU’s migration package at the EU summit in Granada last week, the banner “German migration pact and absurd enforced solidarity” was used on Polish state TV for several days. It was an implied criticism of Germany’s push for an EU-wide solution to dealing with the influx of refugees.

For quite some time now, Polish state media have been toeing the government’s line and adopting the ruling party’s anti-German rhetoric. The word “German” has become a byword for dominant, bad, malicious and anti-Polish.

Kaczynski rails against Germany
Out on the campaign trail, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has been issuing warnings about close relations with the country’s western neighbor, saying: “The Germans look down on us.” He has even cautioned that when it comes to Germany, Poland must not develop Stockholm syndrome, “where the victim loves its own executioner.”

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