Polish probe into Russian influence may happen before vote – lawmaker

Poland could establish a commission to investigate alleged Russian influence before the upcoming elections on October 15, according to a ruling party lawmaker. This statement seems to contradict his previous comments suggesting that there was insufficient time for such an investigation.

The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which holds nationalist views, asserts that the commission is necessary to examine the impact of Russian agents in Poland. However, opposition parties argue that PiS intends to use the commission as a means to eliminate its political rivals.

Critics specifically accuse the PiS-led government of aiming to remove the leader of the largest opposition party, Donald Tusk, from the political landscape. Tusk is a former Prime Minister and former President of the European Council.

While PiS states that the commission is “anti-Putin” and that Tusk is not mentioned in the law establishing it, they admit to concerns that the investigation could expose Russia’s influence on Tusk’s government policies.

The original proposal to create the commission faced backlash from lawyers, the United States, and the European Commission for effectively allowing individuals to be disqualified from public office without judicial review. President Andrzej Duda then suggested amendments to address these concerns.

A revised version of the legislation was subsequently passed by parliament in June.

Last Friday, PiS lawmaker Marek Ast suggested that the delay caused by the amendment process would prevent the commission from being established before the current parliamentary term ends.

However, Ast reversed his stance on Wednesday, claiming that there is sufficient time to form the commission. He clarified, “I absolutely did not say that there was a decision that it won’t happen or that it wouldn’t happen in this parliamentary term. I was talking about a certain scenario in which it wouldn’t be possible to form the commission in this parliamentary term.”

Ast stated, “However, there is a determination that the commission should be formed, and I said there is still two months until the end of the parliamentary term… If we are talking about the time, then certainly it is enough.”

Ast’s change of position came after the head of President Duda’s office, Pawel Szrot, confirmed on Sunday that the commission is likely to be established before the end of the current parliamentary term.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish)