A political war is brewing between Poland’s nationalist leader and the head of the biggest pan-European conservative party as the two grapple over control of the EU’s right wing.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday challenged Manfred Weber — leader of the European People’s Party, a collection of center-right parties from across the EU — to a debate after Weber dismissed Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party as a rule-of-law truant that wants to harm the EU.
“He called us his enemies,” Morawiecki said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that blasted the German politician. “Enough of that. If the Germans openly admit that they will interfere in the elections in Poland, let them stand with an open visor.”
He added: “I am calling for a debate. I will send details today.”
The Polish leader suggested October 2, right before the Polish elections.
Weber, however, quickly dismissed the invite to a verbal duel — “No, we stay totally out of that,” his team told POLITICO in a message Tuesday.
Still, the war of words illustrates the mounting battle among Europe’s right-wing parties ahead of the Polish elections this fall and the EU elections next year. With far-right parties rising across Europe, Europe’s center right — led by Weber — is now debating which parties can be partners, and which are out of bounds.
In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF published Sunday, Weber argued that some of the ascendant far-right leaders, like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, can be productive allies. But he ruled out cooperation with parties like Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS), the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France.
These parties, he said, should be contested.
“Any party must accept the rule of law,” Weber said. “This is the firewall against the PiS representatives in Poland, who systematically attack the rule of law and the free media.”
“Anyone who accepts this can be a democratic partner,” he added, “and all the others who do not accept this, such as the German AfD, Le Pen in France or PiS in Poland, are opponents for us and will be fought by us.”
It’s not the first time Weber has criticized the government in Warsaw. In June, he said the European People’s Party (EPP) was building a “firewall against PiS,” once again likening the Polish party to a political opponent.
The approach reflects Weber’s attempts to pick and choose his right-wing partners as his EPP vies to retain its spot as the European Parliament’s most powerful group going into an election year.
Already, Weber has teamed up in Parliament with members of Meloni’s political group, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to try and combat Green Deal legislation.
But even an EPP-ECR alliance isn’t a clean one for Weber: It also include’s Poland’s Law and Justice party.
Eddy Wax contributed reporting.