Tens of thousands of Poles marched through central Warsaw today in a patriotic rally called by Poland’s main opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), and its leader Jarosław Kaczyński, to mark 1,000 years since Bolesław I the Brave was crowned King of Poland and 500 years since the Duchy of Prussia became a Polish crown fief.
The event began with an attempt to break the record for the largest number of couples dancing the polonaise and culminated with a speech by Karol Nawrocki, the conservative populist candidate for Poland’s May 18 presidential elections and director of the Institute of National Remembrance.
“We cannot allow anyone to steal our freedom or surrender our sovereignty! We want a Poland that takes care of Poles, a Poland that aspires to greatness. A thousand years of the crown are shouting to us today that Poles will never succumb to despair or give up their freedom and sovereignty!” Nawrocki declared, receiving chants of “King Karol!” from the crowd.
Participants, waving Polish flags and chanting slogans like “Here is Poland!”, “God, Honor, Homeland!”, and “The red crow will never defeat the eagle!”, expressed strong opposition to the pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Other slogans, including “This is Poland, not Brussels!”, were also prominent.
Organizers estimated the crowd at 100,000, while Warsaw city authorities counted around 20,000 participants, plus another 10,000 who were reportedly brought in by PiS in 200 buses from across the country.
Speaking to Polish media, marchers said they wanted to ensure that after 500 years, Poles would not again become “vassals of Germany.” Many criticized Tusk’s government for allegedly ignoring the millennium celebration of the Polish crown, accusing it of being “a German government.”
“We are patriots, not Russian Germans,” one participant told Gazeta Wyborcza reporters.
Hostile rhetoric was also directed at Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw and Civic Coalition’s candidate for president, with slogans like “Every red trash votes for Trzaskowski.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tusk released a promotional video titled “1,000 Reasons to Be Proud”, inviting Poles to celebrate the millennium of the Polish Kingdom together in Warsaw on April 26.
Polls show Trzaskowski with a strong lead of at least 10 percentage points in both the first and second rounds of the presidential race, regardless of his opponent. Conservative populist candidate Nawrocki is facing stiff competition from Slawomir Mentzen, the radical nationalist Confederation’s candidate, making it uncertain if Nawrocki will advance to the runoff.
