Polish PM issues stark warning ahead of EU elections

If you don’t want to go to war, go vote.

That’s the stark choice laid out by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk ahead of this weekend’s European elections. His team emphasized security, or more accurately, the threat of Russian aggression, as a big theme.

As parties sympathetic to Russia will make gains elsewhere, including in central Europe, Tusk’s Citizens’ Alliance stressed the need for the EU to stand firm and unite to confront the dangers from Moscow.

He urged Polish people to go out and vote to protect themselves.

The news touches on real concerns among the country’s voters, as many Poles are instinctively wary of their giant neighbor for historical and geographical reasons.

Northern Poland is locked in a standoff with the heavily militarized Russian enclave of Kaliningrad for more than 230 kilometers (142 miles). The border is marked by a thick barbed wire fence and monitored by vehicles equipped with thermal imaging cameras.

At the main border crossing, the word “Russia” is clearly written in red letters on the other side. Passengers on every bus are scrutinized using sniffer dogs before passing through.

The security situation was already heightened more than two years ago when President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But on the eve of the euro vote, Donald Tusk announced he would do more.

East Shield is a 10bn zloty (£1.992bn) project to strengthen Poland’s borders, including everything from high-tech surveillance to trenches. The prime minister announced that the move was aimed at ensuring that “enemies” knew to “stay away” from Poland.

It will be coordinated with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all three Baltic states who have their own reasons to be wary of Russia.

In smaller southern Slovakia and Hungary, politicians are talking about the need for “compromise” with Moscow. This meant concessions from Kiev.

The statements they issued were filled with Kremlin talking points.

But Poland remains convinced that Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, poses risks if Ukraine loses the war.

In this election, with Donald Tusk’s team hijacking the security agenda, the main opposition PiS party has turned its attention elsewhere.

It has been busy attacking the EU’s migration deal and denigrating the Green Deal’s anti-carbon policies, which the party fully supported while in power.

But Poland, under the Law and Justice government, has invested heavily in defense because of the Russian threat. The party has not completely abandoned the theme.

One Law and Justice candidate in this election caused an Internet sensation after a campaign video showed him single-handedly stopping a Tiananmen Square-style Russian tank.

“We have stopped evil many times before, and we will stop it again,” intoned Karol Karski, a bearded professor in a suit and glasses. An arm reaches for a tank car hurtling through the forest.

In Poland, even the younger generation is becoming wary.

In a school outside Warsaw, children have been learning survival skills. It’s part of a new program that will send Homeland Defense Force soldiers into classrooms across the country to teach emergency drills.

From evacuation to orienteering to resuscitation, they are all useful skills. But the teenagers we met knew exactly why they were training.

“We are in danger because of the war in Ukraine,” Sebastian, 17, told me on the sidelines of the exercise.

Not nervous, just talking about things.

“Russia is very close to us and I think they might attack us,” Igor agreed. “We need to learn how to protect ourselves.”

“One of the factors behind the creation of this project was the situation on our eastern border and the national response to real threats,” confirmed Dominik Pijaski, captain of the 6th Brigade of Mazov.

I asked him if he was concerned about the military threat from Russia.

“Only fools are not afraid,” the soldier replied, before adding: “I believe that the entire country has learned the appropriate lessons from what is happening… and is ready to prepare at the highest level to deal with real threaten.

But wariness about Russia does not always translate into unconditional support for Ukraine.

A short drive from Warsaw takes you deep into farmland and small villages with towering crosses and Catholic shrines.

Recently, some fruit farmers here have left their fields to protest on the Ukrainian border and in central Warsaw.

They are uncomfortable with the EU Green Deal because it will increase their production costs.

But they also worry about competition from Ukrainian farmers: duty-free exports of certain goods to support the war-torn economy.

“Competition from Ukraine gives us no chance,” said farmer Mariusz Konarzewski, who has been farming the land since he was 18 and now worries about his livelihood: a long, neat row of slender apple trees.

Mr. Konazzewski explained that Ukrainian farmers have better soil and higher yields. They can also use chemicals banned by the EU, thus increasing productivity.

“It looks like Ukraine is fighting a war on two fronts: one with Russia and another against Polish farmers,” is his view of the competition. “If this continues, we will perish.”

I doubt the farmers were willing to support Ukraine under attack from Russia, they were quick to agree that Kiev needed help. Some people call Vladimir Putin a “madman.”

But there was resentment beneath their words.

“The Poles helped the Ukrainians in every possible way. Now, instead of going hand in hand, they launched an open war against us,” Mr. Konazzewski repeated.

“Of course we need help militarily,” another farmer told me. “But we didn’t do anything wrong and we deserve to suffer for it.”

The European elections did not generate huge excitement. Traditionally, turnout is much lower than in national polls, and the number of campaign posters in town is also far lower than in national polls.

But on Tuesday, as Donald Tusk gathers a crowd of supporters in Warsaw for a final rally before the vote, security is sure to be at the top of his agenda.

The message: Living next door to Russia still carries risks. All of Europe needs to remain vigilant.