Poland’s PM issues stern warning ahead of EU elections

If you don’t want war, go vote.

That is the clear choice that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is presenting ahead of this weekend’s European elections. His team is highlighting security, or more precisely, the threat of Russian aggression, as the main theme.

With parties sympathetic to Russia likely to make gains elsewhere, including in central Europe, Tusk’s Civic Coalition is insisting that the EU must remain firm and united against the threat posed by Moscow.

He is urging Polish people to get out and vote for their own safety.

The message highlights real concerns among the country’s voters, as many Polish people are instinctively wary of their giant neighbor for reasons of both history and geography.

For more than 230 km (142 miles), northern Poland borders Kaliningrad, a heavily militarised region of Russia. The border, marked by a thick fence of barbed wire, is monitored by vehicles equipped with thermal imaging cameras.

At the main crossing point, the word Russia is clearly written in red letters on the other side. Every bus full of passengers is carefully checked with the help of a sniffer dog before it passes through.

Security was already beefed up when President Vladimir Putin launched a massive attack on Ukraine more than two years ago. But ahead of the euro vote, Donald Tusk has announced he will step up security even more.

“Shield East” is a 10 billion zloty (£1.992 billion) project aimed at strengthening Poland’s border, with everything from high-tech surveillance to trenches. The prime minister announced that it was aimed at making sure the “enemy” knew to “stay away” from Poland.

This will be coordinated with the three Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which have their own reasons to be wary of Russia.

Politicians in tiny Slovakia and Hungary in the south talk of the need for “compromise” with Moscow. That means concessions from Kiev.

They issue statements full of Kremlin issues.

But Poland is convinced that if Ukraine is allowed to lose this war, it could face a threat from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

In this election, as Donald Tusk’s team has taken control of the security agenda, the main opposition Law and Justice party, PiS, has focused its attention elsewhere.

He has been busy criticising the EU’s migration deal and denouncing the Green Deal against carbon emissions, a policy the party fully supported while in power.

But Poland was already investing heavily in defense under the PiS government because of the Russian threat. And the party hasn’t completely abandoned the theme.

One PiS candidate in this election became an internet sensation after one of his campaign videos showed him single-handedly stopping a Russian tank, Tiananmen Square-style.

“We have stopped evil many times before and we will stop it again,” says Karol Karski, a bearded professor in a suit and glasses, one hand outstretched toward a tank barreling into the forest.

Here in Poland, even the younger generation is being warned.

Children at a school just outside Warsaw are learning survival skills as part of a new program that sees Territorial Defense soldiers sent into classrooms across the country to teach emergency drills.

From evacuation to resuscitation through orienteering, these are useful skills. But the teenagers we met were clear about why they were getting this training.

“Because there’s a war going on in Ukraine and we’re in danger,” Sebastian, 17, told me between exercises.

Not a panic attack, just a matter of fact.

Igor agreed, adding: “Russia is very close to us and I think they might attack us. We have to learn to defend ourselves.”

“One of the factors behind the creation of this project is the state’s response to the situation and the real threat on our eastern border,” confirmed Captain Dominik Pijarski of the 6th Mazovian Brigade.

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

The soldier responded, “Only fools are not afraid”, and then added: “I believe the whole country has learned the proper lessons from what is happening… and is preparing at the highest level to face the real threat.”

But wariness toward Russia doesn’t always mean unconditional support for Ukraine.

A short drive from Warsaw will take you to agricultural areas and small villages dotted with tall crucifixes and Catholic temples.

Recently, some fruit farmers here have abandoned their farms to protest at the Ukrainian border and in central Warsaw.

They are upset with the EU’s Green Deal, which will increase their production costs.

But they are also worried about the competition they are facing from Ukrainian farmers: they are exporting some goods tariff-free to support the war-ravaged economy.

“We have no chance because of the competition from Ukraine,” says farmer Mariusz Konarzewski, who has been working this land since he was 18 and now fears for his livelihood: long, tidy rows of thin apple trees.

Mr Konarzewski explains that Ukrainian farmers have better soil and higher yields. They can also use chemicals banned in the EU, which increases their productivity.

He views this competition as “a war on two fronts: one with Russia and the other against Polish peasants.” “If this continues, we will simply be wiped out.”

I question whether the farmers want to support Ukraine under Russian attack, and they are quick to agree that Kiev needs help. One man calls Vladimir Putin “crazy.”

But there is anger hidden behind his words.

“The Polish people helped the Ukrainians in every way possible. Now, instead of going hand in hand, they have waged an open war against us,” Mr. Konarzewski reiterated.

Another farmer told me, “Militarily, of course, we have to help. But we haven’t done anything wrong for which we should be punished.”

There is not much enthusiasm for the European elections. Voter turnout is traditionally much lower than for national elections and there are not as many campaign posters in the city.

But when Donald Tusk gathers crowds of supporters in Warsaw on Tuesday for a final rally before the vote, security will surely be top of his agenda.

The message: living next to Russia is risky. And all of Europe needs to be vigilant.