WARSAW, Poland (AP) – European Council President Donald Tusk was met at Warsaw’s main train station Wednesday by hundreds of people – both supporters and angry opponents – as he arrived to testify in an investigation.
The mood at the train station was tense, with supporters of the former Polish prime minister carrying EU and national flags and chanting “Donald, we are with you!” while opponents hurled accusations of crimes and of hurting Poland’s interests. One detractor held up a large mock-up photo depicting him in striped prison garb.
Tusk is only a witness in the current case – an investigation by military prosecutors into alleged secret illegal contacts between Polish and Russian intelligence officials at a time when he was still prime minister.
“I have no doubt this is a part of political witch hunt,” Tusk told reporters while walking to the prosecutors’ office surrounded by bodyguards. He wore a daffodil on his jacket, in honor of the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against Nazi occupiers.
However, many see his questioning as part of a larger attempt by Poland’s nationalist government to discredit a political foe by linking him to scandals and perhaps imprison him eventually. With still strong backing in Poland, Tusk could prove to be a serious rival to the ruling party in the 2019 parliamentary elections and in the 2020 presidential election.