In a bid to maintain power ahead of parliamentary elections in October, the conservative government of Poland announced on Sunday that it plans to conduct a referendum that asks the voters if they favor allowing thousands of illegal migrants from Africa and the Middle East as part of the European Union relocation plan.
In a new video shared on social media, Mateusz Morawiecki asked the referendum question. It suggested that his party, Law and Justice, would exploit the controversial immigration policies that ushered them into office in 2015.
More than a million white and Christian Ukrainian refugees live in Poland, but the country’s leaders have made it evident for a long time that they see Muslims and other minorities as a danger to Poland’s cultural identity and national security.
One of the EU’s longest-running political problems can be traced back to June when interior ministers unanimously approved a proposal to divide the burden of illegal immigration.
Images of car fires and other street violence in Western Europe may be seen in the film. A black guy is seen licking a large knife as Party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski asks,” Do you want this to happen in Poland as well?”
The opposition party, Civic Platform, is portrayed as a danger to Polish interests in the survey questions. During its tenure in power, the pro-business and pro-EU party increased the retirement age, backed partial privatization, and expressed a readiness to admit a few thousand migrants until it was eventually voted out of office in 2015.
At the height of one of the EU’s most significant political crises eight years ago, well over a million migrants entered the union, most escaping turmoil in Syria and overloaded receiving capacity in Greece and Italy.
Since then, the 27 member states of the EU have argued about who is responsible for illegal immigrants and whether other countries should be required to assist them in adjusting to the influx.
At first, Poland was not a country that migrants and refugees entered or settled in. Since the influx of refugees from Belarus two years ago, the country has been on the front lines of the conflict.
In retaliation, Poland constructed a massive wall around its frontier. Fearing an increase in migration and other potential unrest, it has strengthened its military presence on the border.
Law and Justice have been at odds with the EU for some time now, and it’s not only because of migration policies; the EU believes that the Warsaw administration is undermining democratic standards.
